CXUS51 KCAR 052356 CLSCAR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 714 PM EST SUN MAR 03 2024 ................................... ...THE CARIBOU ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM 12/1/2023 TO 2/29/2024... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1939 TO 2024 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 60 12/01/2020 LOW -41 02/01/1955 HIGHEST 58 12/18 MM MM 47 12/03 12/07 02/16 LOWEST -12 01/31 MM MM -22 02/01 AVG. MAXIMUM 30.2 24.1 6.1 27.7 AVG. MINIMUM 13.3 6.4 6.9 10.8 MEAN 21.7 15.3 6.4 19.2 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 57 68.7 -11.7 64 DAYS MIN <= 32 87 87.9 -0.9 87 DAYS MIN <= 0 10 33.8 -23.8 21 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 12.62 2008 MINIMUM 2.38 1944 TOTALS 7.01 8.97 -1.96 12.03 DAILY AVG. 0.07 NAN NAN 0.13 DAYS >= .01 27 41.0 -14.0 51 DAYS >= .10 18 20.3 -2.3 18 DAYS >= .50 5 5.9 -0.9 10 DAYS >= 1.00 1 1.0 0.0 4 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.75 12/10 TO 12/11 1.93 01/12 TO 01/13 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 128.7 2008 TOTALS 46.1 75.5 -29.4 85.8 SINCE 7/1 57.0 87.7 -30.7 MM SNOWDEPTH AVG. 5 13 DAYS >= 1.0 13 18.7 -5.7 MM GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 15 02/02 26 01/31 24 HR TOTAL MM MM 19.7 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 3909 4471 -562 4080 SINCE 7/1 5593 6554 -961 MM COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 MM ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.3 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/160 DATE 12/18 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/170 DATE 12/18 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.60 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 27 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 27 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 37 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 73 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 5 LIGHT RAIN 16 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 6 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 4 SNOW 9 LIGHT SNOW 64 SLEET 1 FOG 44 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 7 HAZE 8 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. * INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ...NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE WINTER 2023-2024 CLIMATE SUMMARY... METEOROLOGICAL WINTER (DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY) FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND ACROSS THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS. SNOWFALL WAS BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. IT WAS THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD IN CARIBOU, HOULTON, AND MILLINOCKET, AND RANKED AS THE 3RD WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD IN BANGOR. UNOFFICIALLY, THE WINTER OF 2015/16 WAS WARMER THAN 2023/ 2024 AT BOTH HOULTON AND MILLINOCKET BY ABOUT 1.5 DEGREES F, BUT BOTH CLIMATE RECORDS DURING THE 2015/16 WINTER HAD MISSING LOW/ HIGH TEMPERATURE DATA. SNOWFALL WAS WELL BELOW AVERAGE WITH A 3-MONTH TOTAL OF 26" IN BANGOR WHICH MADE IT THE 6TH LEAST SNOWY WINTER ON RECORD. IN CARIBOU, 46.1" OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED DURING THE 3-MONTH PERIOD MAKING IT THE 8TH LEAST SNOWY METEOROLOGICAL WINTER ON RECORD. DECEMBER 2023 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION, BUT WELL BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL AND SNOW DEPTH. IT WAS THE 2ND WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR CARIBOU AND HOULTON, A TIE FOR 3RD WARMEST FOR MILLINOCKET, AND 4TH WARMEST FOR BANGOR. TWO EVENTS COMPOSED THE MAJORITY OF PRECIPITATION FOR DECEMBER WITH THE FIRST ON THE 10-11TH AND THE SECOND ON THE 18TH WHERE 1.50-2.50 INCHES OCCURRED WITH EACH EVENT AT THE CLIMATE SITES, MOSTLY OR ENTIRELY IN THE FORM OF RAIN. OF SPECIAL NOTE WAS THE HEAVY RAIN/HIGH WIND EVENT OF THE 18TH. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL AT THE CLIMATE SITES, FLOODING RAINFALL TOTALS UPWARDS OF 5 INCHES OVER THE CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT RIVER FLOODING OVER THE PISCATAQUIS AND PENOBSCOT RIVER VALLEYS. THIS EVENT WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES AND OVER 90,000 POWER OUTAGES. JANUARY 2024 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS MOSTLY BELOW AVERAGE, EXCEPT SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE ALONG THE COAST. SNOWFALL WAS NEAR AVERAGE ACROSS THE REGION. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE 10TH AND 13TH WHEN SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING WAS OBSERVED ALONG THE WASHINGTON AND HANCOCK COUNTY COASTS. ALTHOUGH THE OBSERVED WATER LEVELS WERE HIGHER ON THE 13TH, HIGHER WAVE HEIGHTS AND MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE RUN UP LED TO MORE WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING ON THE 10TH. FEBRUARY 2024 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL WERE BOTH WELL BELOW AVERAGE. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA RANGED FROM 5.5 TO 7.5 DEGREES (F) ABOVE 1991-2020 NORMALS. IT RANKED AS THE 5TH WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AT BOTH CARIBOU AND HOULTON, THE 4TH WARMEST IN MILLINOCKET, AND THE 9TH WARMEST IN BANGOR. SNOWFALL WAS WELL BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. IN FACT, IT WAS THE 2ND LEAST SNOWY FEBRUARY ON RECORD IN BANGOR WITH ONLY 1.2 INCHES OF SNOW. THE ONLY YEAR ON RECORD WITH LESS SNOWFALL IN FEBRUARY WAS IN 1998 WHEN AN INCH WAS OBSERVED. IN CARIBOU, ONLY 8.7 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED WHICH MADE IT THE 7TH LEAST SNOWY FEBRUARY ON RECORD. A WARM-UP AND RAIN AT THE END OF THE MONTH WIPED OUT SO MUCH OF THE SNOWPACK ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS AND THE SNOWMOBILE TRAILS BECAME POOR AND IN MOST AREAS THE SNOWMOBILE SEASON ENDED. THE LACK OF SNOW HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR WINTER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES CAUSING MANY TO BE POSTPONED OR CANCELLED. $$ CB/VJN