Fall 2025 Climate Summary For Northern And Eastern Maine

...NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE FALL 2025 CLIMATE NARRATIVE...

THE METEOROLOGICAL FALL (SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER) SEASON WRAPPED UP 

WITH GENERALLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, AND SIGNIFICANTLY 

BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION, AT DESIGNATED CLIMATE SITES IN 

CARIBOU, HOULTON, MILLINOCKET, AND BANGOR. 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE AROUND NORMAL, WITH A SLIGHT WARM 

ANOMALY. CARIBOU WAS 1.0 DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL, WITH A SEASONAL 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 45.7 DEGREES. BANGOR WAS THE WARMEST 

STATION, WITH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BEING 0.6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL 

AT 49.2 DEGREES. MILLINOCKET RECORDED 1.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL, AT

47.7 DEGREES. LASTLY, HOULTON WAS ABOUT 1.3 DEGREES ABOVE 

AVERAGE, WITH A SEASONAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 45.8 DEGREES. 

MAXIMUM AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE NEAR NORMAL, TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE 

NORMAL. CARIBOU HAD THE COOLEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES, BEING 0.1 

DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. BANGOR WAS ABOVE AVERAGE BY 1.4 DEGREES. 

MILLINOCKET RECORDS MAXIMUM HIGH TEMPERATURES 1.8 DEGREES ABOVE 

CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL. LASTLY, HOULTON WAS 2.3 DEGREES ABOVE 

NORMAL FOR MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT AUTUMN. 

THIS AUTUMN SEASON HAD SOME ABOVE AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES, 

WITH SOME MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORDS GETTING BROKEN ON OCTOBER 

6TH. CARIBOU BROKE ITS ALL-TIME HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR THE 

MONTH OF OCTOBER, 83 DEGREES, DURING A HEAT EVENT. DURING THIS 

SAME EVENT, MILLINOCKET REACHED 85, AND HOULTON REACHED 84 

DEGREES, BOTH OF WHICH ALSO BROKE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME HIGH MONTHLY 

RECORDS. BANGOR RECORDED 84 DEGREES, WHICH WAS THE SECOND HIGHEST 

TEMPERATURE RECORD, RIGHT BEHIND A 86 DEGREE RECORD IN 1968. THE 

PAST 5 YEARS HAVE BEEN WITHIN THE TOP 10 WARMEST OCTOBERS FOR 

THESE CLIMATE SITES, WITH RECORDS DATING BACK TO 1953. THERE WERE 

NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, AND 

NOVEMBER. 

THE BIG STORY FOR THE AUTUMN SEASON WAS THE SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW 

AVERAGE RAINFALL AND PROLONGED DROUGHT CONDITIONS. THROUGHOUT THE 

ENTIRE FALL SEASON, MILLINOCKET GOT THE MOST PRECIPITATION 

COMPARED TO THE OTHER CLIMATE SITES, RECEIVING 8.64 INCHES, WHICH 

IS STILL ABOUT 3.62 INCHES BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL. BANGOR 

ONLY RECEIVED 8.27 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION, RESULTING IN A 3.91 

DEFICIT FROM CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL. CARIBOU RECEIVED 8.13 INCHES 

OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS 2.65 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION BELOW 

NORMAL. LASTLY, HOULTON GOT 7.47 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS

A 3.58 INCH DEFICIT FROM NORMAL. 

AT THE END OF AUGUST/EARLY SEPTEMBER, COASTAL AND CENTRAL MAINE 

WAS IN SEVERE DROUGHT (D2). A THIN REGION IN CENTRAL MAINE JUST 

NORTH OF THE SEVERE DROUGHT, IN PISCATAQUIS, PENOBSCOT, FAR 

SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK, AND FAR NORTHERN WASHINGTON, WAS UNDER 

MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) CONDITIONS. THE MAJORITY OF NORTHERN MAINE, 

INCLUDING CENTRAL AND PORTIONS OF NORTHERN PISCATAQUIS, NORTHERN 

PENOBSCOT, AND SOUTH/EAST AROOSTOOK, WAS ABNORMALLY DRY (D0). WEST

AROOSTOOK AND NORTHERN SOMERSET HAD NO DROUGHT. DROUGHT PEAKED IN

OCTOBER, WITH GENERALLY THE ENTIRE STATE IN SEVERE DROUGHT OR 

HIGHER, SAVE FOR THE MODERATE DROUGHT IN THE CROWN OF MAINE AND 

FAR WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE NORTH. DOWNEAST AND COASTAL MAINE ROSE

AS HIGH AS EXTREME DROUGHT (D3) THROUGHOUT OCTOBER. CONDITIONS 

SLOWLY BEGAN TO IMPROVE IN NOVEMBER, WITH THE SEASON CLOSING OUT 

WITH PORTIONS OF THE BANGOR REGION AND SOUTH/CENTRAL HANCOCK 

COUNTY, WESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY, NORTHWESTERN PISCATAQUIS, 

NORTHERN SOMERSET, AND NORTH/CENTRAL AROOSTOOK IN SEVERE DROUGHT. 

EASTERN WASHINGTON, NORTHERN HANCOCK, NORTH/CENTRAL PENOBSCOT, 

SOUTH/CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS, AND SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK IN MODERATE 

DROUGHT. 

BY THE END OF OCTOBER, THIS DROUGHT HAD BECOME THE WORST DROUGHT 

IN MAINE HISTORY SINCE 2002. A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CROPS WERE 

LOST DURING THE HARVESTING SEASON. MULTIPLE RECORD LOW RIVER 

STREAMFLOWS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MAINE, INCLUDING THE ST. 

JOHN, FISH RIVER, ST. CROIX, AND MATTAWAMKEAG. MULTIPLE DRY WELL 

REPORTS THROUGHOUT NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE WERE RECORDED DURING

THIS TIME. 

FOR THE NEXT SEASONAL OUTLOOK GIVEN BY THE CLIMATE PREDICTION 

CENTER (CPC), LOOKING AT METEOROLOGICAL WINTER (DECEMBER-

FEBRUARY), THERE IS NOT A STRONG SIGNAL FOR ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE

TEMPERATURES OR PRECIPITATION. TYPICAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR 

METEOROLOGICAL WINTER IN THESE CLIMATE SITES ARE IN THE TEENS TO 

20S, WITH HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE 20S AND LOWS IN THE LOW-TEENS TO 

SINGLE DIGITS. TYPICAL SNOWFALL FOR BANGOR DURING THE WINTER 

SEASON (SPECIFICALLY DECEMBER-FEBRUARY) IS ROUGHLY 50 INCHES, AND 

TYPICAL SNOWFALL FOR CARIBOU IS ROUGHLY 75 INCHES. CURRENTLY, 

THERE IS LA NINA ADVISORY ISSUED BY THE CPC, AND CONDITIONS ARE 

EXPECTED TO TRANSITION TOWARDS ENSO-NEUTRAL IN EARLY 2026. AUTUMN 

WAS GENERALLY INFLUENCED BY NEGATIVE NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION 

(NAO) CONDITIONS, AND CURRENT MODEL PREDICTIONS SHOW THE NAO PHASE

BEGINNING TO TRANSITION ON A POSITIVE TREND OR THE WINTER SEASON.

$$

ASB

November 2025 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...November 2025 Climate Narrative for Northern/Eastern Maine...

The November 2025 season was below climatological normal for daily 

maximum temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall. Daily minimum 

temperatures were above normal. Drought conditions persisted, 

continuing to dry up wells throughout the state. That being said, 

portions of central and Downeast Maine had drought improvement. 

Similar to October, precipitation and drought were the primary 

weather concerns for November. All climate sites recorded below 

average precipitation. Millinocket had the largest deficit, 

receiving 2.49 inches of precipitation, which is 1.61 inches below 

climatological normal for November. Bangor received 2.52 inches of 

precipitation, which is 1.32 inches below normal. In terms of 

snowfall, Bangor only recorded 0.6 inches of snow, which is 3.7 

inches below normal for November. Houlton received 2.56 inches of 

rain, and Caribou received 3.10 inches, each recording 1.05 and 0.25 

inch deficits, respectively. Caribou, however, did have slightly 

above normal snowfall amounts, recording 11 inches of snow 

throughout the month, while the climatological normal is 10.4 

inches. There were some wetting storms that moved through northern 

and eastern Maine that provided a bit of relief for Downeast Maine. 

At the end of October, portions of northern Somerset, northwestern 

Aroostook, central Aroostook and northern Penobscot, were in 

moderate drought. Portions of central and southern Aroostook, 

northern and central Penobscot, Piscataquis, and northern Somerset 

all became, or maintained, severe drought. The Bangor region, 

Hancock, and Washington county all recorded Extreme Drought. By the 

end of the month, northern Somerset, northwestern and central 

Aroostook, northern Piscataquis, Bangor region, and portions of 

Hancock and Washington counties, were included in severe drought. 

Overall, drought conditions deteriorated in the Crown of Maine, but 

the rest of northern, central, and Downeast Maine improved. 

Hydrological impacts include dry well reports. There was some 

improvement in lake, pond, river and stream levels. 

Temperatures were relatively close to normal at all climate sites, 

with average temperatures generally 1 degree above or below 

climatological normal. Monthly maximum temperatures were below 

average for November, generally 1-2 degrees below climatological 

normal. Millinocket had the coldest daytime highs, 1.7 degrees below 

normal. Caribou’s average high temperatures were 1.1 degrees below 

normal. Bangor was 1 degree below normal. Lastly, Houlton daily high 

temperatures were 0.5 degrees below climatological normal. 

Monthly minimum temperatures were generally 1-2 degrees above 

climatological normal for Caribou, Houlton, and Millinocket. 

Millinocket had the warmest overnight lows, being 1.8 degrees above 

normal. Houlton had minimum temperature values roughly 1.4 degrees 

above climatological normal. Caribou low temperatures were 1.1 

degrees above normal. Bangor minimum temperatures were the only 

station below normal, with overnight lows generally being 0.9 

degrees below normal.  

For the month ahead, Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is showing a 

probability of below normal temperatures for the entire state of 

Maine, alongside a chance for some above normal precipitation. For 

the next three months, there is no strong signal for above or below 

normal temperatures or precipitation in Maine. CPC currently has a 

La Nina Advisory issued, where the United States can expect La Nina 

conditions to persist, before transitioning to ENSO-neutral in early 

2026.

$$

ASB

Winter Storm Chan Update Two

Winter Storm Chan Update One