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Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS Portland, ME
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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
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office
