Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
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000 CXUS51 KGYX 050959 CLSPWM PWMCLSPWM 000 TTAA00 GYX 031657 CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 0500 AM EST SUN MAR 05 2023 ................................... ...THE PORTLAND ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM 12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1941 TO 2022 (FOR TEMPERATURES) CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1871 TO 2022 (FOR PRECIPITATION) CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1882 TO 2022 (FOR SNOWFALL) WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 71 12/06/2001 12/07/1998 LOW -39 02/16/1943 HIGHEST 57 02/16 59 -2 66 02/23 LOWEST -14 02/04 -10 -4 -7 01/31 AVG. MAXIMUM 38.1 35.2 2.9 35.8 AVG. MINIMUM 22.2 18.4 3.8 17.9 MEAN 30.2 26.8 3.4 26.8 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 24 35.3 -11.3 35 DAYS MIN <= 32 81 82.1 -1.1 81 DAYS MIN <= 0 3 6.3 -3.3 7 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 20.49 1935 MINIMUM 4.12 1872 TOTALS 13.44 11.54 1.90 10.46 DAILY AVG. 0.15 0.13 0.02 0.12 DAYS >= .01 41 33.7 7.3 37 DAYS >= .10 22 21.2 0.8 21 DAYS >= .50 10 7.9 2.1 5 DAYS >= 1.00 6 3.0 3.0 2 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 2.60 01/25 TO 01/26 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 107.6 1971 TOTALS 42.5 49.8 -7.3 41.0 SINCE 7/1 42.5 52.3 -9.8 41.1 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 3 DAYS >= TRACE 38 20.6 17.4 28 DAYS >= 1.0 9 12.1 -3.1 8 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 14 01/24 24 HR TOTAL 13.8 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3101 3433 -332 3420 SINCE 7/1 4337 4810 -473 4613 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 8.1 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 41/130 DATE 12/23 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 65/150 DATE 12/23 SKY COVER AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.57 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 70 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 8 LIGHT RAIN 28 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 4 HEAVY SNOW 2 SNOW 8 LIGHT SNOW 37 FOG 46 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 5 HAZE 10 - 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 ONE OF WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD IN THE PORTLAND 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 PORTLAND AREA TO SEE THEIR FIRST APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL WHEN 4.1 INCHES OF HEAVY WET SNOW FELL. 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 65 MPH, AND SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING AS THE PORTLAND TIDE GAGE REACHED ITS 4TH HIGHEST LEVEL AT 13.72 FEET. 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. THUS, THE PORTLAND AREA STRUGGLED TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN MUCH IN THE WAY OF A SNOWPACK. 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 PORTLAND PUTTING THE AREA ON THE COLD AND SNOWY SIDE OF THE SYSTEMS. ONE SYSTEM BROUGHT 10 INCHES OF SNOW ON JANUARY 19TH INTO THE 20TH FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER STORM ON THE 22ND AND 23RD THAT DROPPED THE GREATEST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON WHEN 9.1 INCHES. THESE TWO STORMS BUILT THE SNOWPACK TO ITS GREATEST DEPTH OF THE WINTER TO 14 INCHES. A HEAVY RAIN EVENT QUICKLY FOLLOWED ON THE 25TH INTO THE 26TH MELTING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF THE FRESH SNOWPACK. 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 AND WITH GUSTY WINDS THE WIND CHILL DROPPED TO 45 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON FEBRUARY 3RD. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RETURNED TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL AND REMAINED THERE THROUGH THE BALANCE OF FEBRUARY WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SNOW BRINGING THE SNOWPACK DOWN TO A TRACE BY FEBRUARY 20TH. 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. BEFORE THIS LAST MINUTE RETURN TO WINTER WEATHER, THE PORTLAND AREA WAS IN THE RUNNING TO EXPERIENCE THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD. HOWEVER, THE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WERE LOW ENOUGH FOR THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE TO DECREASE BELOW THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD VALUE. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 30.3, WHICH WAS 3.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS THE 2001- 02 WINTER WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 31.3 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 17.9 DEGREES IN 1970-71. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST WINTERS ON RECORD AT PORTLAND. WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN WINTER (SINCE 1941)... RANK TEMP SEASON 1 31.3 2001-02 2 31.2 2015-16 3 30.2 2022-23 30.2 2011-12 5 30.1 2019-20 6 29.3 1997-98 7 29.0 1990-91 8 28.9 2016-17 9 28.9 1996-97 10 28.7 1952-53 A TOTAL OF 13.44 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 2.04 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON JANUARY 25TH INTO THE 26TH WHEN SNOW CHANGED TO A WINTRY MIX AND THEN RAIN FOR A TOTAL OF 2.60 INCHES. THE WETTEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 1934-35 WHEN 20.49 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 4.12 INCHES IN 1871-72. A TOTAL OF 42.5 INCHES OF SNOW FELL, WHICH WAS 7.3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THE LEAST SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 1937 WHEN ONLY 9.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS MEASURED. THE SNOWIEST WAS 107.6 INCHES IN 1971. $$