Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
000 CXUS51 KGYX 090301 CLSGYX PWMCLSGYX 000 TTAA00 GYX 060202 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 858 PM EST SAT MAR 05 2022 ................................... ...THE GRAY ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2021 TO 2/28/2022... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1995 TO 2022 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE NORMAL .............................................................. TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 69 12/07/1998 LOW -15 01/15/2004 HIGHEST 63 02/23 58 5 57 LOWEST -9 01/27 -7 -2 2 AVG. MAXIMUM 33.3 32.7 0.6 33.4 AVG. MINIMUM 15.9 17.2 -1.3 20.5 MEAN 24.6 25.0 -0.4 26.9 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 44 43.8 0.2 44 DAYS MIN <= 32 87 85.0 2.0 88 DAYS MIN <= 0 9 6.7 2.3 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 15.31 2008 TOTALS 9.28 11.48 -2.20 10.87 DAILY AVG. 0.10 0.13 -0.03 0.12 DAYS >= .01 37 33.7 3.3 32 DAYS >= .10 20 21.4 -1.4 15 DAYS >= .50 5 7.6 -2.6 9 DAYS >= 1.00 1 2.7 -1.7 4 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.88 02/03 TO 02/04 1.88 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 111.3 2008 TOTALS 37.8 58.7 -20.9 41.6 SINCE 7/1 38.2 63.1 -24.9 41.7 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 5 4 DAYS >= TRACE 39 24.0 15.0 40 DAYS >= 1.0 10 14.4 -4.4 12 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 12 01/30 11 01/31 24 HR TOTAL 8.1 01/29 11.7 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3622 3602 20 3394 SINCE 7/1 4872 5075 -203 4778 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 .............................................................. - 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 COUPLE OF 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 WITH 4.6 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 3.7 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 THE GRAY AREA ON JANUARY 29TH. TOTAL SNOWFALL FROM THIS STORM WAS 8.1 INCHES AND WAS THE GREATEST SNOWFALL OF 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 GRAY AREA IN FEBRUARY. THE WARMEST PERIOD CAME ON FEBRUARY 23RD WHEN THE HIGH REACHED 63 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 GRAY. 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 1.96 INCHES. SYSTEMS THAT THEN CROSSED THE AREA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY WERE PRIMARILY RAIN PRODUCERS WHICH BROUGHT THE SNOWPACK DOWN TO 2 INCHES AFTER A PEAK OF 12 INCHES AT THE END OF JANUARY. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE FINALLY TOOK A MORE SOUTHERLY TRACK FEBRUARY 25TH BRINGING 5.1 INCHES OF SNOW WITH COLD WEATHER PERSISTING THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR WINTER WAS 24.6 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 0.4 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE COLDEST WINTER WAS IN 2014-15 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 19.8 DEGREES. THE WARMEST WAS IN 2001-02 WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 29.8 DEGREES. A TOTAL OF 9.28 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 2.20 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL FEBRUARY 3RD AND 4TH WHEN A LIQUID EQUIVALENT OF 1.96 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE DRIEST WINTER WAS IN 2006-07 WHEN ONLY 7.17 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE WETTEST WAS IN 2007-08 WITH 15.31 INCHES. THERE WAS 37.8 INCHES OF SNOWFALL, WHICH WAS 20.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST SNOW FELL ON JANUARY 29TH WHEN 8.1 INCHES WAS MEASURED. THE LEAST SNOWY WINTER WAS IN 1997-98 WHEN ONLY 26.5 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE SNOWIEST WINTER WAS IN 2007-08 WITH 111.3 INCHES. $$ SCHROETER