Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
000 CXUS51 KGYX 052311 CLAGYX PWMCLMGYX 000 TTAA00 KGYX 042003 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 611 PM EST SUN JAN 5 2020 ................................... ...THE GRAY ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2019... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1995 TO 2020 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 91 07/21 93 -2 92 07/06 LOWEST -3 01/31 -7 4 -10 AVG. MAXIMUM 54.0 55.4 -1.4 54.7 AVG. MINIMUM 37.1 37.3 -0.2 37.8 MEAN 45.5 46.4 -0.9 46.3 DAYS MAX >= 90 3 5.3 -2.3 3 DAYS MAX <= 32 62 50.9 11.1 54 DAYS MIN <= 32 148 143.2 4.8 156 DAYS MIN <= 0 6 7.1 -1.1 7 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 71.90 2005 TOTALS 50.92 50.22 0.70 49.14 DAILY AVG. 0.14 0.14 0.00 0.14 DAYS >= .01 156 138.6 17.4 133 DAYS >= .10 92 85.3 6.7 85 DAYS >= .50 36 33.4 2.6 33 DAYS >= 1.00 13 14.1 -1.1 11 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 3.19 12/14 2.41 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 125.2 2008 TOTALS 77.0 83.8 -6.8 97.2 SINCE 7/1 23.0 21.4 1.6 25.1 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 3 DAYS >= TRACE 66 33.7 69 DAYS >= 1.0 23 19.3 3.7 20 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 20 03/11 22 24 HR TOTAL 9.0 02/12 TO 02/13 12.6 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 7398 7191 207 7238 SINCE 7/1 2673 2666 7 2851 COOLING TOTAL 433 390 43 521 FREEZE DATES RECORD EARLIEST 09/29/2000 LATEST 05/11/2010 EARLIEST 10/14 LATEST 04/24 .............................................................. - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && THE YEAR BEGAN WITH A COUPLE OF LIGHT SNOWFALLS WHICH HELPED ESTABLISH A SOLID AND ENDURING SNOW COVER WHICH WOULD LAST FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. AFTER MORE WINTRY PRECIPITATION ON JANUARY 8 AND 9, VERY COLD ARCTIC AIR MOVED INTO THE REGION. MUCH OF THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WAS SPENT BELOW FREEZING. THE COLDEST DAY WAS JANUARY 21 WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DID NOT WARM ABOVE 5 DEGREES ALL DAY. DESPITE THE VERY COLD WEATHER, THE JANUARY THAW WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. THE TEMPERATURE WARMED TO 49 DEGREES ON JANUARY 24 WITH MORE THAN AN INCH OF RAIN FALLING. THIS TREND OF OSCILLATING TEMPERATURE SWINGS BETWEEN VERY MILD WEATHER AND VERY COLD ARCTIC AIR CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE WAS 3 BELOW ZERO ON JANUARY 31. ANOTHER THAW IN FEBRUARY SAW THE TEMPERATURE TOP 50 DEGREES FOR TWO STRAIGHT DAYS INCLUDING 59 DEGREES ON FEBRUARY 5. THE BIGGEST SNOWSTORM OF THE SEASON CAME ON FEBRUARY 12 AND 13 WHEN 9.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. MORE LIGHT SNOW AND WINTER COLD CONTINUED INTO MARCH, WITH THE SNOW DEPTH PEAKING AT 20 INCHES ON MARCH 11. GRADUALLY WARMER SPRING-LIKE WEATHER AND SOME RAIN HELPED TO REDUCE THE SNOW PACK, THOUGH IT TOOK UNTIL THE MORNING OF APRIL 18 FOR THE LAST OF THE WINTER SNOW PACK TO MELT. THE NEXT FEW MONTHS SAW FREQUENT CLOUDY AND SHOWERY WEATHER. IN FACT, FROM APRIL TO JUNE THERE WERE 52 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION. THIS WAS THE MOST ON RECORD; MORE THAN THE 50 WET DAYS SEEN IN 2006. THE LAST FREEZE OF THE SEASON WAS ON APRIL 11, ABOUT TWO WEEKS EARLIER THAN NORMAL. ALTHOUGH MOST RAINY DAYS DID NOT SEE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL, THERE WERE A FEW HEAVIER RAINFALLS INCLUDING APRIL 26 AND 27 (1.95 INCHES), MAY 28 AND 29 (0.96 INCHES), JUNE 11 (1.08 INCHES), AND JUNE 20 (1.52 INCHES). A FEW BRIEF PERIODS OF WARMTH WERE OBSERVED IN THE MIDST OF THE OTHERWISE CLOUDY AND WET SPRING. SOME OF THE MORE NOTABLE WARMER DAYS WERE APRIL 13 (71), MAY 20 (75), AND JUNE 10 (80). AFTER THE CLOUDY AND WET SPRING KEPT TEMPERATURES COOL, THE WEATHER PATTERN SHIFTED IN LATE JUNE AND ESPECIALLY JULY. SUMMER HEAT ARRIVED IN THREE WAVES DURING JULY. THE FIRST PEAKED AT 91 DEGREES ON JULY 6. THE NEXT SAW 90 AND 91 DEGREES ON JULY 20 AND 21 RESPECTIVELY. AFTER A BRIEF COOL DOWN AND SOME RAIN, ONE FINAL HOT SPELL CAME AT THE END OF JULY WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 80S. A SERIES OF COLD FRONTS BROUGHT SOME RELIEF FROM THE HEAT IN AUGUST, THOUGH THERE WERE STILL PLENTY OF WARM 80 DEGREE DAYS. SOME OF THESE FRONTS BROUGHT THUNDERSTORMS AND OCCASIONALLY HEAVIER RAINFALL. THE PARADE OF COLD FRONTS CONTINUED THROUGH SEPTEMBER BRINGING PROGRESSIVELY COOLER AND DRIER AIR OUT OF CANADA, BUT NOW WITH LITTLE RAINFALL ACCOMPANYING THEM. THERE WAS ONE MORE WARM UP JUST IN TIME FOR THE FALL EQUINOX AS THE TEMPERATURE TOPPED 80 DEGREES FOR THREE STRAIGHT DAYS FROM SEPTEMBER 21 THROUGH 23. A NEW WEATHER PATTERN BEGAN TO ESTABLISH ITSELF IN OCTOBER. IT FEATURED A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES WITH NEW ENGLAND ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THIS TROUGH. THIS MEANT WARM, MOIST AIR WAS FUNNELED INTO THE AREA ALONG WITH FREQUENT RAINFALL. THE 19 DAYS OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION IN OCTOBER WAS THE MOST ON RECORD AT GRAY. A SERIES OF MORE SIGNIFICANT STORM SYSTEMS AFFECTED THE AREA IN THE LAST HALF OF OCTOBER. THE FIRST WAS ON OCTOBER 17 WHEN MORE THAN AN INCH OF RAIN FELL ALONG WITH STRONG WINDS. THE NEXT BROUGHT ALMOST 2 INCHES OF RAIN ON OCTOBER 22 AND 23, WITH ANOTHER INCH FALLING ON OCTOBER 27. THE LAST BEGAN ON HALLOWEEN AND ENDED WITH MORE WINDY CONDITIONS ON NOVEMBER 1. THE FIRST FREEZE OF THE SEASON FINALLY CAME ON NOVEMBER 2, MORE THAN TWO WEEKS LATER THAN NORMAL. THE TROUGH OVER THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY SHIFTED EAST IN NOVEMBER, ALLOWING VERY COLD ARCTIC AIR TO POUR INTO NEW ENGLAND. IT ALL BEGAN WITH A COLD FRONT ON NOVEMBER 7, USHERING IN WINTER-LIKE COLD. THE NEXT TWO WEEKS SAW TEMPERATURES 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ALONG WITH SOME WINTRY PRECIPITATION. GRADUALLY THE TEMPERATURE BEGAN TO MODERATE A BIT IN LATE NOVEMBER, WITH THE LAST FEW STORM SYSTEMS WARM ENOUGH TO BRING MOSTLY RAIN. THAT CHANGED AS DECEMBER BEGAN WITH A LONG DURATION SNOWSTORM AND MORE COLD WEATHER. THIS WASN`T TO LAST, THOUGH, AS A WARM UP CAME IN THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER. THE TEMPERATURE TOPPED 50 DEGREES ON 4 DIFFERENT DAYS AND SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL WASHED ALL THE EARLY SEASON SNOW AWAY. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS ON DECEMBER 13 AND 14 WHEN 3.35 INCHES FELL. AFTER THIS STORM MOVED AWAY THE COLD AIR RETURNED AND THE TEMPERATURE STAYED BELOW FREEZING FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS. SOME LIGHT SNOW ON DECEMBER 17 AND 18 MANAGED TO LAST THROUGH CHRISTMAS DESPITE SOME WARMTH RETURNING JUST BEFORE THE HOLIDAY. THE YEAR ENDED WITH ANOTHER LONG DURATION WINTER STORM AND GRAY PICKED UP 11.3 INCHES OF SNOW ON DECEMBER 30 AND 31, THE BIGGEST SNOWSTORM OF 2019. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE YEAR WAS 45.5 DEGREES WHICH WAS 0.9 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND THE COOLEST YEAR SINCE 2014. THE COOLEST YEAR WAS 1997 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 45.1 DEGREES. THE WARMEST WAS 48.9 DEGREES IN 2010. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR EACH MONTH OF 2019 INCLUDING DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY MONTH IN 2019 MONTH MAXIMUM MINIMUM AVERAGE NOTES JANUARY 27.9 (-1.5) 11.8 (-0.8) 19.9 (-1.1) FEBRUARY 31.9 (-1.6) 14.9 (-1.0) 23.4 (-1.3) MARCH 39.7 (-2.2) 21.9 (-2.1) 30.8 (-2.1) APRIL 52.0 (-1.6) 35.1 (+0.2) 43.6 (-0.7) MAY 60.5 (-4.6) 43.7 (-1.0) 52.1 (-2.8) 3RD COOLEST JUNE 72.2 (-1.8) 53.4 (-0.7) 62.8 (-1.3) JULY 82.3 (+3.2) 62.9 (+3.2) 72.6 (+3.2) 2ND WARMEST AUGUST 78.2 (-0.3) 59.1 (+0.4) 68.7 (+0.1) SEPTEMBER 70.3 (+0.3) 50.9 (+0.2) 60.6 (+0.2) OCTOBER 57.7 (-0.3) 43.2 (+3.1) 50.5 (+1.4) NOVEMBER 40.6 (-5.3) 26.9 (-4.1) 33.7 (-4.8) 2ND COLDEST DECEMBER 34.9 (+0.1) 21.2 (+1.4) 28.0 (+0.7) ANNUAL 54.0 (-1.4) 37.1 (-0.2) 45.5 (-0.9) THE GROWING SEASON, AS DEFINED AS THE LONGEST CONSECUTIVE DAYS ABOVE FREEZING, LASTED FOR 205 DAYS IN 2019 FROM APRIL 11 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2, THE LONGEST GROWING SEASON IN THE SHORT 24-YEAR HISTORY OF OBSERVATIONS AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN GRAY. THE NORMAL GROWING SEASON IS 172 DAYS LONG. UNTIL THIS YEAR, THE LONGEST GROWING SEASON WAS 202 DAYS IN 2017. THE SHORTEST WAS 153 DAYS IN 2000. A TOTAL OF 50.92 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL WHICH WAS 0.70 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL AND THE WETTEST YEAR SINCE 2014. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION CAME ON DECEMBER 13 AND 14 WHEN 3.35 INCHES OF RAIN WAS MEASURED. THE WETTEST YEAR WAS IN 2005 WHEN 71.90 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE DRIEST HAD ONLY 34.77 INCHES IN 2001. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR EACH MONTH OF 2019 INCLUDING DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL. MONTHLY PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL TOTALS FOR 2019 MONTH PRECIPITATION SNOWFALL NOTES JANUARY 4.99 (+1.46) 21.2 (+0.0) 3RD WETTEST FEBRUARY 3.03 (-0.28) 14.4 (-2.1) MARCH 2.63 (-1.54) 13.4 (-6.5) APRIL 5.06 (+0.68) 5.0 (+0.2) MAY 4.88 (+0.98) 0.0 JUNE 6.07 (+1.77) 0.0 JULY 2.87 (-1.43) 0.0 AUGUST 4.22 (+0.63) 0.0 SEPTEMBER 0.78 (-3.41) 0.0 DRIEST OCTOBER 6.90 (+1.76) 0.0 NOVEMBER 2.73 (-2.62) 0.7 (-2.3) DECEMBER 6.77 (+2.71) 22.3 (+4.0) 3RD WETTEST ANNUAL 50.92 (+0.70) 77.0 (-6.8) THERE WERE 13 DAYS THAT RECORDED AT LEAST 1.00 INCH OF PRECIPITATION. THIS WAS 1.1 DAYS BELOW NORMAL. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE DAYS WHICH RECEIVED AT LEAST 1.00 INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN 2019. DAYS WITH AT LEAST 1.00 INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN 2019 DAY PRECIPITATION JANUARY 20 1.09 JANUARY 24 1.43 APRIL 27 1.17 JUNE 11 1.08 JUNE 20 1.52 JULY 12 1.67 AUGUST 21 1.12 AUGUST 28 1.29 OCTOBER 17 1.34 OCTOBER 23 1.73 OCTOBER 27 1.14 DECEMBER 14 3.19 DECEMBER 30 1.08 SNOWFALL STATISTICS ARE NORMALLY LISTED BY SEASON RATHER THAN BY CALENDAR YEAR. HOWEVER, 2019 SAW 77.0 INCHES OF SNOWFALL WHICH WAS 6.8 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND THE LOWEST SINCE 2012. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WAS ON THE FINAL TWO DAYS OF THE YEAR WHEN 11.3 INCHES FELL ON DECEMBER 30 AND 31. THERE WERE 23 DAYS WITH AT LEAST 1.0 INCH OF SNOWFALL INCLUDING 2 DAYS WITH AT LEAST 6.0 INCHES. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE DAYS WHICH RECEIVED 6 INCHES OR MORE OF SNOWFALL IN 2019. DAYS WITH AT LEAST 6 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN 2019 DAY SNOWFALL JANUARY 20 6.7 DECEMBER 30 8.9 SNOW DEPTH GRADUALLY INCREASED THROUGH JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AS SEVERAL SNOWSTORMS ADDED TO THE SNOW PACK CARRIED OVER FROM 2018, AND OCCASIONAL THAWS ONLY CAUSED MINOR DECREASES. A FEW SNOWSTORMS IN EARLY MARCH ALONG WITH COLD TEMPERATURES BROUGHT THE SNOW PACK UP TO 20 INCHES ON MARCH 11, THE HIGHEST OF THE YEAR. THE GRADUAL MELT CONTINUED INTO APRIL, WITH THE LAST TRACE OF THE WINTER SNOW PACK MELTING BY THE MORNING OF APRIL 18. THE SNOW RETURNED WITH A WINTER STORM AT THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER, BUT A WEEK OF WARM WEATHER MELTED THIS EARLY SEASON SNOW. MORE LIGHT SNOW FELL AND ESTABLISHED A NEW SNOW PACK BY THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 18. THIS SNOW MANAGED TO HANG ON THROUGH CHRISTMAS WITH ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT SNOWSTORM ADDING TO IT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. THERE WERE 120 DAYS WITH AT LEAST 1 INCH OF SNOW ON THE GROUND, 87 DAYS WITH AT LEAST 6 INCHES ON THE GROUND, AND 39 DAYS WITH AT LEAST 12 INCHES ON THE GROUND. $$ KIMBLE