Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000 CXUS51 KGYX 090204 CLSAUG PWMCLSAUG 000 TTAA00 GYX 060202 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 858 PM EST SAT MAR 05 2022 ................................... ...THE AUGUSTA CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2021 TO 2/28/2022... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1948 TO 2022 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 64 02/23 56 8 60 12/25 LOWEST -13 01/27 -9 -4 -3 01/31 AVG. MAXIMUM 33.9 31.8 2.1 33.4 AVG. MINIMUM 16.0 15.4 0.6 20.2 MEAN 24.9 23.6 1.3 26.8 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 41 48.1 -7.1 43 DAYS MIN <= 32 84 84.8 -0.8 84 DAYS MIN <= 0 10 9.4 0.6 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 17.78 1974 MINIMUM 3.23 1980 TOTALS 6.34 8.38 -2.04 10.15 DAILY AVG. 0.07 0.09 -0.02 0.11 DAYS >= .01 33 31.9 1.1 32 DAYS >= .10 16 18.0 -2.0 14 DAYS >= .50 2 5.0 -3.0 5 DAYS >= 1.00 0 1.7 -1.7 4 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 0.81 02/03 TO 02/04 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3394 3723 -329 3367 SINCE 7/1 4571 5218 -647 4767 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.4 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/350 DATE 01/14 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/350 DATE 01/14 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.49 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 66 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 6 LIGHT RAIN 18 FREEZING RAIN 6 LT FREEZING RAIN 12 HEAVY SNOW 6 SNOW 11 LIGHT SNOW 34 FOG 43 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 20 HAZE 34 - 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 A FEW 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 APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON FOLLOWED BY TEMPERATURES STAYING NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL INTO CHRISTMAS DAY. 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 AUGUSTA JANUARY 29TH. 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 AUGUSTA AREA IN FEBRUARY. THE WARMEST PERIOD CAME ON FEBRUARY 23RD WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED 64 DEGREES, WHICH ALSO SET THE NEW ALL TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. 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 JUST TO THE SOUTH OF AUGUSTA. THIS SET UP LED TO A PERIOD OF RAIN THAT THEN CHANGED OVER TO SLEET AND THEN SNOW WITH A LIQUID EQUIVALENT STORM TOTAL OF 0.89 INCHES. SYSTEMS THAT THEN CROSSED THE AREA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY WERE PRIMARILY RAIN PRODUCERS FOLLOWED BY SOME LIGHT SNOW ON THE 25TH AND COLD WEATHER THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR WINTER WAS 24.9 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 1.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. A MECHANICAL ISSUE OCCURRED WHICH RESULTED IN MISSING TEMPERATURE DATA ON JANUARY 20TH THROUGH JANUARY 23RD, WHICH COINCIDED WITH A STRETCH OF COLD DAYS. THIS LIKELY IMPACTED THE AVERAGE SEASONAL TEMPERATURE. THE WARMEST WINTER WAS IN 2001-02 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 28.6 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS IN 1958-59 WHEN IT WAS 17.3 DEGREES. A TOTAL OF 6.34 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED, WHICH WAS 2.04 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON FEBRUARY 3RD AND 4TH WHEN A LIQUID EQUIVALENT OF 0.89 INCHES. THE DRIEST WINTER WAS IN 1979-80 WHEN ONLY 3.23 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE WETTEST WAS IN 1973-74 WITH 17.78 INCHES. THE FOLLOWING RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN WINTER 2020/21... DATE RECORD PREVIOUS DEC 16 33 - WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 33 IN 2011 AND OTHERS (TIED) FEB 17 40 - WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 38 IN 1981 FEB 23 64* - WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 59 IN 1990 *THE 64 DEGREES ON FEB 23RD ALSO SET A NEW ALL TIME RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH FOR FEBRUARY WAS 60 DEGREES ON FEB 18TH, 1981. $$ SCHROETER