Thursday, February 05, 2015

Record Setting Snowy 7 to 10 Days for Downeast Maine

A Record Setting Snowy 7 to 10 Days for Downeast Maine...

How unusual was this very snowy stretch? Extremely unusual for Downeast for how much snow has occurred in a 7 to 10 day period. There were four significant  storms...Jan 24-25, Jan 26-28, Jan 30-31, and Feb 2. It is not uncommon to get a big storm or maybe two big storms in a row, but three to four in a row is very unusual. Here are some statistics for various places over Downeast.

Eastport...
The CoCoRaHS observer in Eastport has gotten the most snow...with 76.0 inches since January 24. The following are the snow reports taken at 7 am each day from Jan 25 to Feb 3: 7.2, 0.0, 9.2, 13.3, 3.2, 0.0, 17.3, 7.7, 0.0, 18.1. Although records from the CoCoRaHS site at Eastport do not go back very far, there was a COOP station in Eastport from 1895 to 2013. The COOP station's 10 day snowfall record was 37.5 inches (Feb 2013), and the CoCoRaHS observer had 76.0 in 10 days. In fact, in looking at all the COOP or official NWS stations in the state of Maine, the most any station has gotten in 10 days is 71.0 inches at Ripogenus Dam around the turn of 1962 and 1963. Eastport just had 76.0 in 10 days. While CoCoRaHS is not an official NWS/COOP station, this stat gives you a sense just how unusual this snowy period was not only for coastal Maine, but anywhere in the state.


Bangor...
The Bangor airport received 44.5 inches of snow since January 24...much less than Eastport's 76.0 inches, but still record setting. Jan 27 to Feb 3...Bangor had 41.0 inches. That breaks the 8 day snow record of 39.7 inches in December 1927. For the 7 days from Jan 27 to Feb 2...Bangor had 40.2 inches. That still breaks the 7 day record of 39.7 inches from December 1927. Records in Bangor go back to may of 1926. Basically, any way you put it, it was a very unusual snowy stretch for Bangor, which was even a lot less snowy than Eastport during this stretch.


Machias...
The Machias COOP observer received 62.1 inches of snow since Jan 24. This shatters their old 10 day record of 35.5 inches in Dec 1964. Records in Machias began in 1893.


Robbinston...
Robbinston COOP observer received 54.7 inches of snow in 10 days from Jan 24 to Feb 2. This shatters their 10 day record of 32.7 inches in Mar 1999. Records for Robbinston only go back to 1994.


Other Downeast Locations...
A few other impressive totals from Downeast include 61.0 inches 2.5 miles SE of Hancock, 60 inches in Lamoine, and 44.6 inches East Surry. Northern Maine has gotten much less snow. For example, Caribou only received 23.7 inches Jan 24 to Feb 3.