Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
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000 CXUS51 KGYX 072227 CLSPWM PWMCLSPWM 000 TTAA00 GYX 060202 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 858 PM EST SAT MAR 05 2022 ................................... ...THE PORTLAND ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM 12/1/2021 TO 2/28/2022... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1981 TO 2010 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1941 TO 2021 (FOR TEMPERATURES) CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2021 (FOR PRECIPITATION) CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1882 TO 2021 (FOR SNOWFALL) WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 71 12/06/2001 12/07/1998 LOW -39 02/16/1943 HIGHEST 66 02/23 59 7 59 12/01 LOWEST -7 01/31 -10 3 -1 02/12 AVG. MAXIMUM 35.8 35.2 0.6 35.7 AVG. MINIMUM 17.9 18.4 -0.5 20.7 MEAN 26.8 26.8 0.0 28.2 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 35 35.3 -0.3 32 DAYS MIN <= 32 81 82.1 -1.1 84 DAYS MIN <= 0 7 6.3 0.7 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 20.49 1935 MINIMUM 4.12 1872 TOTALS 10.46 11.54 -1.08 10.39 DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.13 -0.01 0.11 DAYS >= .01 37 33.7 3.3 30 DAYS >= .10 21 21.2 -0.2 14 DAYS >= .50 5 7.9 -2.9 9 DAYS >= 1.00 2 3.0 -1.0 4 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.59 02/04 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 107.6 1971 TOTALS 41.0 49.8 -8.8 40.8 SINCE 7/1 41.1 52.3 -11.2 40.9 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 2 DAYS >= TRACE 28 20.6 7.4 31 DAYS >= 1.0 8 12.1 -4.1 11 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 11 01/30 24 HR TOTAL 13.2 01/29 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3420 3433 -13 3283 SINCE 7/1 4613 4810 -197 4550 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 8.0 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 41/360 DATE 01/29 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 59/360 DATE 01/29 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.55 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 68 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 10 LIGHT RAIN 24 FREEZING RAIN 1 LT FREEZING RAIN 6 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 8 LIGHT SNOW 28 FOG 40 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 9 HAZE 4 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && WINTER GOT OFF TO A MILD START WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING WELL ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF DECEMBER THANKS TO SEVERAL DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES INTO THE 50S AND SEVERAL NIGHTS WHERE THE LOW TEMPERATURE DID NOT DROP BELOW FREEZING. THIS MILD START TO WINTER CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US THAT OFTEN EXTENDED INTO NEW ENGLAND. THIS RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OFTEN FORMS OVER THE SOUTHEAST US DURING LA NINA WINTERS WITH THIS PAST WINTER FEATURING MODERATE LA NINA CONDITIONS IN THE TROPICAL PACIFIC. THE MILD WEATHER PATTERN TURNED MORE WINTRY AFTER A STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSED THE AREA ON DECEMBER 17TH. ON DECEMBER 18TH TO 19TH LOW PRESSURE TRACKED ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BRINGING THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON WITH 7.4 INCHES OF SNOWFALL. TEMPERATURES THEN STAYED NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL PRESERVING THE SNOWPACK INTO CHRISTMAS DAY. ANOTHER AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CROSSED THE AREA CHRISTMAS WEEKEND BRINGING A TOTAL OF 3.6 INCHES OF SNOW BY THE 26TH. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR INTO THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS OF JANUARY. THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY TEMPERATURES OSCILLATED BETWEEN BELOW NORMAL AND ABOVE NORMAL AS THE WEATHER PATTERN ACROSS NORTH AMERICA STARTED TO UNDERGO A TRANSITION. THIS TRANSITION WAS RELATED TO THE PACIFIC NORTH AMERICAN PATTERN SHIFTING TO ITS POSITIVE PHASE AFTER BEING IN ITS NEGATIVE PHASE DURING DECEMBER INTO EARLY JANUARY. THIS SHIFT TO A +PNA LED TO A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS WESTERN NORTH AMERICA WITH A DEEP TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY. THE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN CONUS BROUGHT A PERIOD OF PERSISTENT COLD DURING THE SECOND HALF OF JANUARY ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO AVERAGE BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY. THIS TROUGH ALSO PRODUCED A POWERFUL OCEAN STORM THAT BROUGHT BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TO PORTLAND JANUARY 29TH. TOTAL SNOWFALL FROM THIS STORM WAS 13.2 INCHES WITH A PEAK WIND GUST OF 59 MPH, WHICH WERE BOTH THE GREATEST SNOWFALL AND STRONGEST WINDS MEASURED FOR THE WINTER SEASON. GOING INTO FEBRUARY THE RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US REDEVELOPED AND REMAINED A DOMINANT FEATURE THROUGH THE END OF WINTER. MILD SOUTHWEST FLOW AROUND THE RIDGE BROUGHT SEVERAL WARM SPELLS TO THE PORTLAND AREA IN FEBRUARY. THE WARMEST PERIOD CAME ON FEBRUARY 23RD WHEN THE HIGH REACHED 66 DEGREES, WHICH WAS THE WARMEST DAY OF THE WINTER SEASON. ANOTHER DOMINANT FEATURE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER MAP DURING FEBRUARY WAS A PERSISTENT TROUGH OVER CENTRAL CANADA. AS NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND WAS POSITIONED BETWEEN THIS TROUGH AND A RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST US THE STORM TRACK HAD A TENDENCY TO CUT ACROSS THE AREA WITH SYSTEMS BRINGING A VARIETY OF PRECIPITATION TYPES IN FEBRUARY. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENT OF THE WINTER OCCURRED ON FEBRUARY 3RD TO 4TH WHEN WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE TRACKED ALONG A COLD FRONT THAT SLOWLY SANK SOUTH THROUGH NEW ENGLAND AND THEN STALLED NEAR THE LATITUDE OF PORTLAND. THIS SET UP LED TO A PERIOD OF RAIN THAT THEN CHANGED OVER TO SLEET AND EVENTUALLY ENDED AS SNOW WITH A LIQUID EQUIVALENT STORM TOTAL OF 2.06 INCHES. SYSTEMS THAT THEN CROSSED THE AREA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY WERE PRIMARILY RAIN PRODUCERS WHICH BROUGHT THE SNOWPACK DOWN TO ZERO UNTIL A SNOWSTORM BROUGHT 5.8 INCHES ON FEBRUARY 25TH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR WINTER WAS 26.8 DEGREES, WHICH IS ALSO THE NORMAL TEMPERATURE FOR THE WINTER SEASON. THE WARMEST WINTER WAS IN 2001-02 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 31.3 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS IN 1970-71 WHEN IT WAS 17.9 DEGREES. A TOTAL OF 10.46 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 1.08 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON FEBRUARY 3RD TO 4TH WHEN A LIQUID EQUIVALENT OF 2.06 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE DRIEST WINTER WAS IN 1871-72 WHEN ONLY 4.12 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE WETTEST WAS IN 1934-35 WITH 20.49 INCHES. THERE WAS 41.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL, WHICH WAS 8.8 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL FELL ON JANUARY 29TH WHEN 13.2 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE LEAST SNOWY WINTER WAS IN 1936-37 WHEN ONLY 9.5 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE SNOWIEST WINTER WAS IN 1970-71 WITH 107.6 INCHES. THE FOLLOWING DAILY RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN WINTER 2021/22... DATE RECORD PREVIOUS DEC 16 36 - WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 33 IN 1999 AND OTHERS JAN 29 13.2 - GREATEST SNOWFALL 9.0 IN 1957 FEB 4 1.59 - GREATEST PRECIPITATION 1.42 IN 1911 FEB 12 54 - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 51 IN 1984 FEB 12 44 - WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 42 IN 1999, 1998 FEB 17 42 - WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 39 IN 1981 FEB 23 66 - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 61 IN 1990 FEB 23 46 - WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 46 IN 1990 (TIED) FEB 23 41 - GREATEST TEMPERATURE RANGE 40 IN 1964 $$ SCHROETER