Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
000 CXUS51 KGYX 111154 CLAGYX PWMCLAGYX 000 TTAA00 GYX 032139 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 438 PM EST TUE JAN 03 2023 ................................... ...THE GRAY ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2022... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1995 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE NORMAL .............................................................. TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 99 07/22/2011 LOW -15 01/15/2004 HIGHEST 94 08/07 93 1 95 LOWEST -9 01/27 -7 -2 2 AVG. MAXIMUM 57.0 55.1 1.9 56.7 AVG. MINIMUM 38.6 37.6 1.0 40.1 MEAN 47.8 46.3 1.5 48.4 DAYS MAX >= 90 5 4.7 0.3 9 DAYS MAX <= 32 51 51.7 -0.7 46 DAYS MIN <= 32 129 143.8 -14.8 141 DAYS MIN <= 0 9 7.1 1.9 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 71.90 2005 TOTALS 45.50 50.14 -4.64 45.00 DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.14 -0.02 0.12 DAYS >= .01 129 139.8 -10.8 144 DAYS >= .10 85 84.4 0.6 79 DAYS >= .50 29 33.2 -4.2 27 DAYS >= 1.00 11 13.1 -2.1 13 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 3.38 10/13 TO 10/14 3.30 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 125.2 2008 TOTALS 41.1 84.0 -42.9 35.3 SINCE 7/1 8.7 22.1 -13.4 11.6 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 1 DAYS >= TRACE 55 35.0 61 DAYS >= 1.0 12 19.9 -7.9 13 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 12 01/30 10 01/31 24 HR TOTAL 8.1 01/29 5.3 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 6715 7163 -448 6452 SINCE 7/1 2307 2613 -306 2318 COOLING TOTAL 584 396 188 536 FREEZE DATES RECORD EARLIEST 09/29/2000 LATEST 05/11/2010 EARLIEST 10/29 LATEST 04/21 .............................................................. - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && COLD WEATHER WAS ABLE TO TAKE HOLD OVER NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND DURING JANUARY AS A RIDGE IN THE JET STREAM DEVELOPED OVER WESTERN NORTH AMERICA WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH CENTERED OVER THE GREAT LAKES. THIS PATTERN ALLOWED FOR SEVERAL INTRUSIONS OF ARCTIC AIR INTO NEW ENGLAND AS WELL AS A STORM TRACK ALIGNED NEAR THE EAST COAST. DURING ONE OF THESE ARCTIC AIR INTRUSIONS THE LOW TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 9 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON JANUARY 27TH, WHICH WOULD BE THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED FOR THE YEAR. THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR AND COASTAL STORM TRACK SET THE STAGE FOR THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL EVENT OF THE YEAR ON JANUARY 29TH WHEN A POWERFUL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPED OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COASTLINE AND TRACKED SOUTHEAST OF CAPE COD. THIS STORM BROUGHT BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TO THE GRAY AREA WITH THE PEAK WIND GUST REACHING 52 MPH AND A TOTAL OF 8.1 INCHES OF SNOW. THE SNOW FROM THE BLIZZARD SETTLED TO A SNOW DEPTH OF 12 INCHES THANKS TO EXISTING SNOW COVER BEFOREHAND, WHICH WOULD BE THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH OF THE YEAR. ANOTHER IMPACTFUL WINTER STORM TO AFFECT NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND UNFOLDED ON FEBRUARY 3RD TO THE 4TH WHEN A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMAINED DRAPED THROUGH SOUTHERN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE WITH WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE TRACKING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THE GRAY AREA WAS ON THE WARM SIDE OF THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY THROUGH MUCH OF THIS EVENT, WHICH RESULTED IN SLEET BEING THE DOMINANT PRECIPITATION TYPE WHILE ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND MOUNTAINS UPWARDS OF 18 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. THROUGHOUT THE REST OF FEBRUARY AND ALL OF MARCH WINTER WEATHER WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH THE LAST OF THE WINTER SNOWPACK MELTING OUT ON MARCH 21ST. A MILD END TO WINTER WAS FOLLOWED BY WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH APRIL WITH A RELATIVE ACTIVE PATTERN BRINGING SEVERAL BOUTS OF RAIN. THE ACTIVE PATTERN IN APRIL GAVE WAY TO A WARM AND DRY PATTERN IN MAY. BEFORE THE WARM PATTERN SET IN THE LAST FREEZE OF THE SPRING SEASON OCCURRED ON APRIL 21ST WHEN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 31 DEGREES. THEREAFTER WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS DOMINATED THROUGH THE MONTH OF MAY WITH THE FIRST 70 PLUS DEGREE DAY OCCURRING ON MAY 11TH. THE LACK OF LATE WINTER AND SPRING SNOW ALONG WITH A DRY PATTERN IN MAY LED TO LITTLE IN THE WAY OF THE TRADITIONAL MUD SEASON WITH DROUGHT CONDITIONS ONCE AGAIN DEVELOPING IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND FOR THE THIRD SPRING IN A ROW. THE SUMMER SEASON STARTED OFF COOLER THAN NORMAL WITH A PERIOD OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES EARLY IN JUNE. ANOTHER PERIOD OF COOL CONDITIONS ARRIVED DURING THE THIRD WEEK OF JUNE WHEN AN ANOMALOUS UPPER LOW SETTLED OVER NEW ENGLAND WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OCCURING ON MT WASHINGTON ON JUNE 19TH. JUNE WAS ALSO DRY IN THE GRAY AREA WITH DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPANDING AND INTENSIFYING ACROSS NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED WELL ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH JULY WHILE PRECIPITATION CONTINUED TO RUN BELOW NORMAL FOR THE FIFTH MONTH IN A ROW. THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE WAS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER EASTERN CANADA THAT OFTEN FAVORED DRY CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS TO MOVE OVER NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND. THIS MADE FOR VERY WARM AND SUNNY DAYS LEADING TO THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES BEING DRIVEN BY DAY TIME HIGHS. THE TREND IN ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES CONTINUED INTO AUGUST. FROM AUGUST 5TH TO THE 7TH THE LOW TEMPERATURE DID NOT DROP BELOW 70 DEGREES AND ON THE 7TH THE HIGH TEMPERATURE HIT 94 DEGREES, WHICH WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED IN 2022. VERY WARM CONDITIONS CONTINUED DURING THE SECOND HALF OF AUGUST AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPED OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. THIS RIDGE WAS IN A FAVORABLE POSITION TO ADVECT ATLANTIC MOISTURE INTO NEW ENGLAND LEADING TO VERY HUMID CONDITIONS IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE INCREASE IN HUMIDITY LED TO MULTIPLE HEAVY RAIN EVENTS, WHICH ALLOWED AUGUST PRECIPITATION TO FINISH ABOVE NORMAL AND WAS THE FIRST MONTH SINCE FEBRUARY WITH ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION. WARMER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS IN AUGUST WERE FOLLOWED BY NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN SEPTEMBER ALONG WITH A RELATIVELY ACTIVE PATTERN AS A SERIES OF SLOW MOVING FRONTS CROSSED THROUGH NEW ENGLAND. WETTER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS THEN DOMINATED THROUGH OCTOBER AS A LARGE RIDGE BUILT ACROSS THE WEST COAST WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND ANOTHER RIDGE NEAR NEWFOUNDLAND. THIS PATTERN LEAD TO TWO HEAVY RAIN EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER WITH THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL OF THE YEAR OCCURRING ON OCTOBER 13TH INTO THE 14TH WHEN 3.38 INCHES OF RAIN FELL. THE FIRST FREEZE OF THE FALL SEASON OCCURRED ON OCTOBER 29TH WHEN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DROPPED 31 DEGREES. A PERIOD OF EXCEPTIONAL WARMTH SET IN DURING THE FIRST 12 DAYS OF NOVEMBER WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE ECLIPSED THE 70 DEGREE MARK FIVE TIMES. MUCH COOLER WEATHER SET IN BY THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER WITH THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON OCCURRING ON NOVEMBER 16TH WHEN 1.2 INCHES FELL. THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM ARRIVED ON DECEMBER 16TH INTO THE 17TH WHEN A SLOW MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TRACKED ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND INTO THE GULF OF MAINE. THIS STORM BROUGHT A HEAVY WET SNOW TO THE GRAY AREA WITH A STORM TOTAL SNOW OF 6.6 INCHES. THIS HEAVY WET SNOW RESULTED IN POWER OUTAGES WITH THE MOUNTAINS RECEIVING UPWARDS OF TWO FEET OF SNOW. THE LAST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER MAKER OF THE YEAR OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 22ND AND 23RD WHEN A POWERFUL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEEPENED OVER THE GREAT LAKES AND TRACKED INTO QUEBEC. THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT DAMAGING SOUTH TO SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WITH THE PEAK GUST AT GRAY TOPPING OUT AT 59 MPH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE YEAR WAS 47.8 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 1.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMEST YEAR WAS IN 2010 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 48.9 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 45.1 DEGREES IN 1997. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR EACH MONTH OF 2022 INCLUDING DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY MONTH IN 2022 MONTH MAXIMUM MINIMUM AVERAGE NOTES JANUARY 26.8 (-3.0) 8.5 (-5.7) 17.6 (-4.4) 4TH COLDEST FEBRUARY 35.8 (+2.7) 15.8 (-0.6) 25.8 (+1.1) MARCH 44.2 (+2.9) 25.3 (+0.7) 34.7 (+1.8) APRIL 54.2 (+1.3) 36.2 (+2.2) 45.2 (+1.7) MAY 68.7 (+4.4) 46.9 (+2.9) 57.8 (+3.6) 4TH WARMEST JUNE 72.7 (-0.7) 53.9 (+0.1) 63.3 (-0.3) JULY 83.5 (+4.5) 62.7 (+2.6) 73.1 (+3.6) 2ND WARMEST AUGUST 80.7 (+2.5) 62.1 (+3.2) 71.4 (+2.8) 4TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER 68.7 (-1.7) 51.9 (+0.4) 60.3 (-0.6) OCTOBER 60.5 (+2.8) 42.2 (+1.4) 51.4 (+2.2) NOVEMBER 51.0 (+4.9) 33.0 (+1.6) 42.0 (+3.2) 4TH WARMEST DECEMBER 37.3 (+2.1) 24.8 (+3.7) 31.0 (+2.8) ANNUAL 57.0 (+1.9) 38.6 (+1.0) 47.8 (+1.5) A TOTAL OF 45.50 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 4.64 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON OCTOBER 13TH AND 14TH WHEN AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CROSSED OVER THE REGION BRINGING HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND LOCALLY DAMAGING SOUTH TO SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS. THE DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD WAS IN 2001 WHEN ONLY 34.77 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE WETTEST WAS 71.90 INCHES IN 2005. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR EACH MONTH OF 2022 INCLUDING DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL. MONTHLY PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL TOTALS FOR 2022 MONTH PRECIPITATION SNOWFALL NOTES JANUARY 2.17 (-1.38) 17.6 (-3.0) 5TH WETTEST FEBRUARY 3.88 (+0.54) 9.0 (-11.4) MARCH 3.21 (-0.80) 5.8 (-10.4) APRIL 4.20 (-0.20) T (-4.7) MAY 1.08 (-2.48) 0.0 2ND DRIEST JUNE 2.54 (-2.19) 0.0 JULY 2.81 (-0.92) 0.0 AUGUST 4.25 (+0.41) 0.0 SEPTEMBER 6.17 (+1.85) 0.0 5TH WETTEST OCTOBER 6.87 (+1.45) 0.0 (-0.6) NOVEMBER 4.42 (-0.23) 1.6 (-2.2) DECEMBER 3.90 (-0.69) 7.1 (-10.6) ANNUAL 45.50 (-4.64) 41.1 (-42.9) DAYS WITH AT LEAST 1.00 INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN 2022 DAY PRECIPITATION JANUARY 4 1.49 APRIL 8 1.21 AUGUST 31 1.73 SEPTEMBER 5 1.62 SEPTEMBER 19 1.49 SEPTEMBER 22 1.27 OCTOBER 14 2.94 OCTOBER 18 1.04 NOVEMBER 11 1.06 NOVEMBER 30 1.15 DECEMBER 23 1.57 SNOWFALL STATISTICS ARE NORMALLY LISTED BY SEASON RATHER THAN BY CALENDAR YEAR. HOWEVER, 2022 SAW 41.1 INCHES OF SNOWFALL, WHICH WAS 42.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND THE FOURTH LEAST ANNUAL SNOWFALL ON RECORD. THE HEAVIEST SNOWSTORM WAS ON JANUARY 29TH WHEN 8.1 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE DAYS WHICH RECEIVED AT LEAST 6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN 2022. DAYS WITH AT LEAST 6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN 2022 DAYS SNOWFALL JANUARY 29 8.1 $$ DS/HAT