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000
CXUS51 KGYX 082020
CLSGYX

PWMCLSGYX 000
TTAA00 GYX 031657

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
0320 PM EST WED MAR 08 2023

...................................

...THE GRAY ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM
12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023...

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             69   12/07/1998
 LOW             -17   02/04/2023
HIGHEST           56   02/16         58      -2       63
LOWEST           -17R  02/04         -7     -10       -9
AVG. MAXIMUM    35.6               32.7     2.9     33.3
AVG. MINIMUM    21.3               17.2     4.1     15.9
MEAN            28.5               25.0     3.5     24.6
DAYS MAX >= 90     0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32    35               43.8    -8.8       44
DAYS MIN <= 32    81               85.0    -4.0       87
DAYS MIN <= 0      3                6.7    -3.7        9

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM       15.31   2008
TOTALS         11.81              11.48    0.33     9.28
DAILY AVG.      0.13               0.13    0.00     0.10
DAYS >= .01       39               33.7     5.3       37
DAYS >= .10       23               21.4     1.6       20
DAYS >= .50        9                7.6     1.4        5
DAYS >= 1.00       4                2.7     1.3        1
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL   1.60                                1.88

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL         111.3   2008
TOTALS          55.1               58.7    -3.6     37.8
SINCE 7/1       56.7               63.1    -6.4     38.2
SNOWDEPTH AVG.     6
DAYS >= TRACE     36               24.0    12.0       39
DAYS >= 1.0       13               14.4    -1.4       10
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH       15   01/31                          12
                       02/01
                       02/02
 24 HR TOTAL    16.0   02/28 TO 02/28               17.6

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL   3255               3602    -347     3622
 SINCE 7/1      4519               5075    -556     3622
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.

&&

THE WINTER OF 2022-2023 WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF WARMEST WINTERS ON
RECORD IN THE GRAY 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 GRAY AREA TO SEE THEIR FIRST APPRECIABLE SNOWFALL WHEN 6.6
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, 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 GRAY 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 GRAY PUTTING THE AREA ON THE COLD AND SNOWY SIDE OF THE
SYSTEMS. ONE SYSTEM BROUGHT 7 INCHES OF SNOW ON JANUARY 19TH INTO
THE 20TH FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER STORM ON THE 22ND AND 23RD THAT BROUGHT
11.6 INCHES. THESE TWO STORMS BUILT THE SNOWPACK TO ITS GREATEST
DEPTH OF THE WINTER TO 16 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. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RETURNED TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL AND
REMAINED THERE THROUGH THE BALANCE OF FEBRUARY WITH LITTLE IN THE
WAY OF SNOW. A PATTERN CHANGE CAME A FOOT 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 HELPED 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.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 28.5, WHICH WAS
3.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS THE 2001-
02 WINTER WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 29.9 DEGREES. THE COLDEST
WAS 20.0 DEGREES IN 2014-15. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST
WINTERS ON RECORD AT GRAY.

WARMEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN WINTER (SINCE 1996)...
RANK    TEMP    YEAR
1       29.9    2001-02
2       29.4    2015-16
3       28.6    2022-23 <==
4       28.0    2011-12
5       27.5    1997-98


A TOTAL OF 11.81 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 0.33 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON DECEMBER 23RD WHEN
A TOTAL OF 1.57 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION WAS MEASURED. THE WETTEST
WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 2007-08 WHEN 15.31 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST
WAS 7.17 INCHES IN 2006-07.

A TOTAL OF 55.1 INCHES OF SNOW FELL, WHICH WAS 3.6 INCHES BELOW
NORMAL. THE LEAST SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD WAS IN 1998 WHEN ONLY
26.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS MEASURED. THE SNOWIEST WAS 111.3 INCHES IN
2008.

$$