Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
000 CXUS51 KCAR 060005 CLACAR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 705 PM EST THU JAN 05 2023 2022 FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION. IN CARIBOU IT RANKED AT THE 9TH WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD. IN HOULTON IT RANKED AT THE 5TH WARMEST. AT MILLINOCKET IT WAS THE 6TH WARMEST, AND AT BANGOR THE 4TH WARMEST ON RECORD. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL WITH THE GREATEST DEPARTURES ACROSS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY AND NORTHWEST AROOSTOOK COUNTY. IT RANKED AS THE 11TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD AT CARIBOU, AND THE 10TH WETTEST AT BANGOR. IN HOULTON IT RANKED AS THE 13TH WETTEST ON RECORD. JANUARY: WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH. IT WAS THE COLDEST JANUARY SINCE 2009. THE LOW OF 30 BELOW IN CARIBOU ON THE MORNING OF THE 27TH WAS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED SINCE 2009. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE WAS A LOW OF 39 BELOW AT MASARDIS ON THE MORNING OF THE 27TH. ASIDE FROM IT BEING A COLD MONTH, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT WAS A WINTER STORM ON THE 29TH INTO THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 30TH WHICH BROUGHT HEAVY SNOW, STRONG WIND, EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW, AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES ACROSS THE DOWNEAST REGION WITH LOCAL BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AS FAR NORTH AS SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY. FEBRUARY: FEATURED NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE SNOWFALL. A WINTER STORM ON THE 4TH INTO THE 5TH PRODUCED HEAVY SNOWFALL ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS, AND PRODUCED AN AMAZING 5.3 INCHES OF SLEET AT EASTPORT. BANGOR SET AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY TEMPERATURE RECORD ON THE 23RD WITH A HIGH OF 65F. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 60F, WHICH HAD STOOD SINCE FEBRUARY 21, 1937. AN ALL-TIME RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED WITH A LOW OF 42F ON THE 17TH, WHICH BROKE THE RECORD OF 41F SET ON FEBRUARY 21, 1981. MARCH: SIMILAR TO FEBRUARY THERE WERE FREQUENT ALTERNATING SPELLS OF BOTH ABOVE AVERAGE AND BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. FOR THE MONTH AS A WHOLE TEMPERATURES WERE A BIT BELOW AVERAGE NORTH AND A LITTLE WARMER THAN NORMAL DOWNEAST. SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE NORTH AND BELOW AVERAGE IN BANGOR AND DOWNEAST WHERE THERE WERE MORE RAIN EVENTS. THE SNOWPACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH RANGED FROM 15 TO 30 INCHES NORTH WITH 3 FEET ON THE GROUND AT ALLAGASH. MOST OF THE SNOW MELTED OUT IN BANGOR AND ALONG THE COAST DURING THE FIRST WEEK TO 10 DAYS OF THE MONTH. APRIL: FINISHED WITH SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION, AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. SNOWFALL WAS SCANT WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT ON THE 28TH-29TH WITH 2 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS WITH A COUPLE OF SPOTS SUCH AS MARS HILL AND JEMTLAND WHICH RECEIVED 8 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW. ICE OUT WAS RELATIVELY SMOOTH ON THE NORTHERN RIVERS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT FLOODING. MAY: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM WELL ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE FAR NORTH TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST. THE HIGH OF 90F IN CARIBOU ON THE 13TH NOT ONLY SMASHED THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD BY A DOZEN DEGREES, IT WAS THE 2ND EARLIEST 90 DEGREE DAY ON RECORD BEHIND ONLY MAY 9, 1979. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT OF THE MONTH WAS HEAVY RAIN ACROSS FAR NORTHERN AREAS LATE IN THE MONTH THAT PRODUCED LOCAL THREE-DAY TOTALS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES AND CAUSED ROUTE 1 IN CYR PLANTATION TO COLLAPSE DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF FLASH FLOODING AND A BEAVER DAM THAT BROKE LOOSE. JUNE: WAS COOLER THAN AVERAGE AND FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTH AND DRIER THAN NORMAL ACROSS CENTRAL AND DOWNEAST AREAS. THE HIGH ON THE 19TH OF 49F AT CARIBOU WAS UNUSUALLY COOL. THE WARMEST WEATHER WAS LATE IN THE MONTH ON THE 25TH AND 26TH WITH WIDESPREAD HIGHS IN THE 80S AND LOWER 90S. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, MODERATE DROUGHT WAS OBSERVED ACROSS MUCH OF HANCOCK COUNTY, SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY, AND EXTREME SOUTHERN PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. JULY: WAS A LITTLE WARMER THAN AVERAGE, AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. DRIER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED FROM BANGOR SOUTH TO THE COAST AND IN PARTS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, AND IN PARTS OF NORTHWEST MAINE. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPANDED A BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTH TO INCLUDE CENTRAL PENOBSCOT COUNT AS WELL AS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. THERE WERE NO 90 DEGREE DAYS IN CARIBOU OR HOULTON, BUT THREE CONSECUTIVE 90 DEGREE DAYS WERE OBSERVED AT BANGOR FROM THE 22ND TO THE 24TH. AUGUST: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES DOWNEAST. PRECIPITATION WAS HIGHLY VARIABLE AND DEPENDENT ON THUNDERSTORMS. OVERALL, THE GREATEST TOTALS WERE OBSERVED ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS WITH LESSER AMOUNTS TOWARD THE COAST. DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVED, AND BY THE END OF THE MONTH NO PART OF THE REGION WAS IN DROUGHT WITH ONLY ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS NOTED ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION. SEPTEMBER: FINISHED WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, AND NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL, EXCEPT BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. THE FIRST FROST AND FREEZE OF THE SEASON OCCURRED ON THE 19TH WHEN MAINLY OF THE NORTHERN VALLEYS DROPPED BELOW FREEZING AND ESTCOURT STATION HAD A LOW OF 24F. ANOTHER ROUND OF FROST AND FREEZE WAS OBSERVED ON THE 29TH, THIS TIME ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO THE VALLEYS OF DOWNEAST MAINE. OCTOBER: ENDED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL THAT VARIED FROM WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE. THE MONTH ENDED AS THE 3RD WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD AT BOTH CARIBOU AND HOULTON, THE 5TH WARMEST AT MILLINOCKET, AND THE 10TH WARMEST AT BANGOR. CARIBOU HAD 21 DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 60F OR WARMER, WHICH WAS THE MOST ON RECORD. AREAS THAT DID NOT EXPERIENCE A HARD FREEZE IN SEPTEMBER DID DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER. FALL FOLIAGE PEAKED DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE MONTH IN THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY AND BY MID-MONTH ALONG THE COAST. IN BANGOR, IT ENDED AS THE 3RD WETTEST OCTOBER ON RECORD WITH JUST SHY OF 9 INCHES OF RAIN. NO SNOW WAS OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL FOR NORTHERN AREAS. NOVEMBER: BEGAN WITH RECORD WARMTH, AND BACK-TO-BACK HIGHS IN THE 70S AT CARIBOU FOR THE FIRST TIME ON RECORD. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 59F AT CARIBOU ON THE 6TH ESTABLISHED AN ALL-TIME RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. FOR THE MONTH AS A WHOLE, TEMPERATURES AVERAGED FROM 1.5 TO 4 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE. PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE AVERAGE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME SPOTS IN HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES WHERE PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW AVERAGE. SNOWFALL WAS BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND BANGOR ONLY OBSERVED 1 INCH OF SNOW FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH. SNOWFALL WAS A BIT ABOVE AVERAGE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN MAINE WITH 14.3 INCHES AT CARIBOU. BY THE END OF THE MONTH THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES NORTH OF THE KATAHDIN REGION WITH NO SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM MILLINOCKET TO THE COAST. DECEMBER: WAS MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE WITH NEAR TO ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. IT RANKED AS THE 3RD WARMEST ON RECORD AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON AND THE 4TH WARMEST ON RECORD AT MILLINOCKET AND BANGOR. THE LOW MONTHLY TEMPERATURES IN CARIBOU OF ZERO WAS OBSERVED ON THE 28TH AND WAS THE 4TH LATEST FIRST ZERO OCCURRENCE. SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ON THE 3RD AND 7TH LIQUIDATED EARLY SNOWPACKS FROM NOVEMBER. SNOWFALL ACROSS THE REGION WAS RELATIVELY LIGHT. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT WAS A PROLONGED EVENT FROM THE 16TH TO THE 19TH THAT PRODUCED TOTALS UPWARDS TO 20 INCHES OVER SOME CENTRAL AND WESTERN AREAS. THE MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH AT CARIBOU WAS 13 INCHES AND AT BANGOR WAS 9 INCHES, BUT MOST OF IT DID NOT LAST TILL THE END OF THE MONTH DUE TO MILD TEMPS AND RAIN. A RAIN AND WIND STORM ON THE 23RD PRODUCED 60 TO 75 MPH WIND AND DOWNED MANY TREES AND POWERLINES AND KNOCKED OUT POWER TO 25 TO 30 PERCENT OF THE REGION. POWER WAS NOT RESTORED FOR NEARLY A WEEK IN MORE REMOTE AREAS DOWNEAST. $$ CB/VJN