Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000 CXUS51 KGYX 051230 CLSAUG PWMCLSAUG 000 TTAA00 GYX 031657 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 0730 AM EST SUN MAR 05 2023 ................................... ...THE AUGUSTA CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1948 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 67 12/06/2001 LOW -23 02/02/1962 HIGHEST 56 02/16 56 0 64 02/23 LOWEST -17 02/04 -9 -8 -13 01/27 AVG. MAXIMUM 36.5 31.8 4.7 33.9 AVG. MINIMUM 21.5 15.4 6.1 16.0 MEAN 29.0 23.6 5.4 24.9 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 34 48.1 -14.1 41 DAYS MIN <= 32 80 84.8 -4.8 84 DAYS MIN <= 0 3 9.4 -6.4 10 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 17.78 1974 MINIMUM 3.23 1980 TOTALS 10.14 8.38 1.76 6.34 DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.09 0.02 0.07 DAYS >= .01 36 31.9 4.1 33 DAYS >= .10 23 18.0 5.0 16 DAYS >= .50 4 5.0 -1.0 2 DAYS >= 1.00 4 1.7 2.3 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.16 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3212 3723 -511 3394 SINCE 7/1 4390 5218 -828 4571 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.6 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 37/140 DATE 12/23 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 56/130 DATE 12/23 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.52 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 68 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 1 HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 4 LIGHT RAIN 14 FREEZING RAIN 2 LT FREEZING RAIN 6 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 10 LIGHT SNOW 32 FOG 43 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 13 HAZE 15 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && THE WINTER OF 2022-2023 WILL GO DOWN AS THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD IN THE AUGUSTA AREA. DESPITE SOME SIZABLE SNOW EVENTS, MILD TEMPERATURES INHIBITED A DEEP AND PERSISTENT SNOWPACK. LA NINA CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT FOR THE THIRD WINTER IN ROW WITH CONDITIONS TRANSITIONING TOWARDS ENSO NEUTRAL TOWARDS THE END OF FEBRUARY. THIS LA NINA ALONG WITH PERSISTENT TROPICAL CONVECTION OVER INDONESIA LED TO A PATTERN DOMINATED BY A TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN US AS WELL AS AN ACTIVE PACIFIC STORM TRACK AIMED AT CALIFORNIA. THE DOMINATE TROUGH IN THE WEST LED TO A PERSISTENT AND STRONG SOUTHEAST RIDGE THAT OFTEN PUSHED NORTH INTO NEW ENGLAND. THE ACTIVE STORM TRACK INTO CALIFORNIA ACTED TO FLOOD THE CONUS WITH MILD PACIFIC AIR AND THE STRONG SOUTHEAST RIDGE ACTED PUSH MILD AIR NORTHWARDS INTO NEW ENGLAND. A STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSED NEW ENGLAND TO START THE WINTER SEASON FOLLOWED BY BRIEF HIGH PRESSURE. A RELATIVELY ACTIVE PATTERN FOLLOWED AND LASTED THROUGH THE SOLSTICE. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS DURING THIS PERIOD HAD A TENDENCY TO TRACK TO THE WEST OF THE AREA LEADING TO MOSTLY RAIN EVENTS FOLLOWED BY COLD AIR INTRUSIONS BEHIND THE SYSTEMS. ONE SYSTEM MANAGED TO HAVE A SECONDARY LOW FORM IN THE GULF OF MAINE ON THE 16TH THAT ALLOWED FOR JUST ENOUGH COLD AIR FOR THE AUGUSTA AREA TO SEE THEIR FIRST APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM TO IMPACT THE AREA IN DECEMBER CAME ON THE 23RD WHEN A RAPIDLY DEEPENING MID LATITUDE CYCLONE TRACKED ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES INTO QUEBEC. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN, POWERFUL ONSHORE WINDS GUSTING TO 56 MPH. A SHOT OF COLD AIR CAME BEHIND THIS SYSTEM FOR CHRISTMAS, ALTHOUGH THIS COLD WAS SHORT LIVED AS TEMPERATURES CLIMBED WELL ABOVE NORMAL TO END DECEMBER AND LASTED THROUGH THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF JANUARY. DURING THIS STRETCH OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES THERE WERE A COUPLE OF LIGHT SNOW EVENTS AS WELL AS SOME MIXED PRECIPITATION AND RAIN EVENTS. THERE WAS A PATTERN CHANGE GOING INTO THE THIRD WEEK OF JANUARY WHEN A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE PUSHED INTO THE WEST COAST THAT SHIFTED A TROUGH FURTHER EAST INTO THE CENTRAL CONUS THAT SUPPRESSED THE DOMINANT SOUTHEAST RIDGE. THIS PATTERN CHANGE LEAD TO A STORM TRACK DIRECTED TOWARDS NEW ENGLAND WITH LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS PASSING TO THE SOUTH OF AUGUSTA PUTTING THE AREA ON THE COLD AND SNOWY SIDE OF THE SYSTEMS. A HEAVY RAIN EVENT QUICKLY FOLLOWED ON THE 25TH INTO THE 26TH. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE END OF JANUARY, ALTHOUGH THIS WAS INTERRUPTED BY A SIGNIFICANT BUT SHORT LIVED ARCTIC AIR OUTBREAK ON FEBRUARY 3RD AND 4TH. THIS ARCTIC AIRMASS BROUGHT LOWS INTO THE MINUS TEENS WITH BITTERLY COLD WINDCHILLS. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RETURNED TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL AND REMAINED THERE THROUGH THE BALANCE OF FEBRUARY WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SNOW. A PATTERN CHANGE CAME AFOOT DURING THE FINAL WEEK OF WINTER AS HIGH LATITUDE BLOCKING DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC AND THEN RETROGRADED WESTWARD INTO GREENLAND AS THE NAO DIPPED INTO NEGATIVE TERRITORY. THE ACTIVE STORM TRACK CONTINUED INTO THE WEST COAST, ALTHOUGH THE HIGH LATITUDE BLOCKING HELP TO SUPPRESS THE STORM TRACK SOUTHWARD BRING SOME LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW EVENTS AS WELL AS BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO CLOSE OUT THE WINTER SEASON. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 29.0, WHICH WAS 5.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND THE WARMEST ON RECORD. THE PRIOR WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS THE 2001-02 WINTER WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 28.7 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 17.3 DEGREES IN 1958- 59. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA. WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN WINTER (SINCE 1948)... RANK TEMP SEASON 1 29.0 2022-23 2 28.7 2001-02 3 28.4 2015-16 4 26.7 2020-01 5 26.6 1952-53 6 26.5 2011-12 7 26.3 2019-20 8 26.2 1997-98 9 26.0 2009-10 26.0 1998-99 A TOTAL OF 10.14 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 1.76 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON DECEMBER 23RD FOR A TOTAL OF 2.16 INCHES. THE WETTEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 1973-74 WHEN 17.78 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 3.23 INCHES IN 1979-80. $$