August 2013 Climate Summary for northern and eastern Maine

Following a very wet June and July...august 2013 went down in the
Record books as another wet month.

A total of 5.67 inches of rain was observed at Caribou making it the
11th wettest August on record.  At Bangor...a total of 4.69 inches
of rain fell. Rainfall was highly variable across northern and
eastern Maine...but across the majority of the area ranged from 125
to 200 percent of normal. The highest rainfall totals were observed
In Aroostook county with 7.65 inches at the Bridgewater coop and
7.28 inches at the Houlton 5n coop. There were a few spots in
southern Washington county...central Piscataquis...and northwest
Aroostook County where rainfall ranged from 50 to 90 percent of
normal.

The average temperature this past august at Caribou was 62.9
degrees...which was 0.7 degrees below normal.  It was the coolest
August at Caribou since 2007. At Bangor the average temperature of
66.3 degrees was 0.8 degree below the 30-year average...making it
the coolest August since 2008. Temperatures were just a bit below
normal across northern and eastern Maine this past August and ranged from 0.5 to 2 degrees below normal.

For the meteorological summer (June through August) there was a
total of 19.00 inches of rain at Caribou...which made it the 2nd
wettest summer behind only 2011.  At Bangor a total of 13.89 inches
of rain fell this summer...which made it the 8th wettest summer on
record. Temperature-wise...it was the coolest summer at Caribou
since 2007 and the coolest at Bangor since 2008.

The high temperature this past August at Caribou was 85 degrees on
the 21st and the low was 43 degrees on the 24th.  At Bangor
temperatures ranged from a high of 87 degrees on the 21st and 22nd
to a low of 45 on the 24th. Estcourt station held the honors for
the cold spot...and even had a freeze with a low of 32 degrees on
the 24th.

There were only 3 days with a high temperature of 80 degree or
warmer at Caribou...which compares to an average of 7 days during
the month of August. At Bangor there were 8 days with a high
temperature of 80 degrees or warmer...which compares to a normal of 13. No new temperature records were established at either Caribou or Bangor this past August.

Thunder was observed at Caribou on 7 days....which compares to an
average of 4 days. At Bangor...thunder was observed on 8
days...which is 6 more than the average of 2.  The peak wind gust
this past August at caribou was 33 mph out of the west-southwest on
the 10th. At Bangor the peak wind gust of 35 mph out of the
northwest on the 3rd.

The outlook for September from the Climate Prediction Center
indicates an increased likelihood of above normal temperatures and
precipitation. At Caribou (Bangor) the average high temperatures drop off rapidly from 71 (75) on the 1st to 59 (64) by the end of the month. The average lows at Caribou (Bangor) drop from 49 (53)
on the 1st to 40 (42) by the end of the month. The average
precipitation at Caribou is 3.32 inches and is a bit more with an
average of 3.83 inches at Bangor. Measurable snowfall has never
been observed at Bangor during the month of September...but 2.1
inches was observed at Caribou on September 29, 1991.

The days become rapidly shorter with a loss of over 1 1/2 hours of
daylight during the course of the month.