Fall 2016 Weather Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...Fall summary for northern and eastern Maine...

September 2016 ended with above average temperatures and below
average rainfall. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 4 degrees above
average, and rainfall ranged from 30 to 75 percent of normal. At
Caribou, the average monthly temperature of 58.6 degrees tied with
2011 as the 4th warmest September on record. At Bangor, a total
of 1.23 inches of rain was observed, which was 2.6" below average.
It ranked as the 8th driest September on record. Some spots were
even drier, and Houlton observed only 99 hundredths of an inch of
rain all month.

The first freezing temperature of the fall season was observed at
Caribou on the 30th when the low temperature was 31 degrees. On
average (1891-2010 averages), the first freezing temperature at
Caribou is observed on September 24th. Some spots across northern
Maine had frost as early as the middle of the month. Houlton
observed a low temperature of 33 degrees on the 16th, and had
5 nights when the temperature dropped to the freezing mark or
lower during the last week of the month.

The warmer than average temperatures delayed the onset on the
fall foliage. At the end of September, fall foliage was only 10 to
40 percent of peak from the Katahdin region north to the Saint
John Valley, and generally 10 percent or less across the Downeast
region.

October 2016 featured above average temperatures and in most areas
below average rainfall. Temperatures ranged from 1.5 to 3.5
degrees above average, with the largest departures across far
northern Maine from Houlton north to the Saint John Valley.
Rainfall ranged from 50 to 125 percent of normal, with the least
precipitation observed across southern Piscataquis County, with
the only positive departures across parts of the Saint John Valley
and north woods.

No measurable snow was observed at Caribou in October, however, on
the 24th and 25th a trace of snow was observed. On average,
measurable snowfall is observed in 2 out 3 October's at Caribou.
No snow was observed at Bangor. A weather system did bring 1 to 2
inches of snow to parts of central and southern Piscataquis County
on the morning of the 28th.

The fall foliage peaked during the first week of October in the
Saint John Valley, around the 10th in the Caribou/Presque Isle
areas, and toward the middle of the month along the Downeast
coast. The peak was about a week later than average.

There were a total of 7 nights with a low temperature of 32
degrees or lower at Caribou, which is well below the average of 13
nights. At Bangor, there were 4 nights with a low temperature of
freezing or lower, which was well below the average of 9 nights.

November 2016 will be remembered for significantly above average
temperatures, below to near normal precipitation, and snowfall
that ranged from below average Downeast to above average across
far northern Maine, with a snowy finish to the month.
Temperatures ranged from 2.5 degrees above average Downeast to 5.5
degrees above average across far northern Maine. At Caribou, the
average of 36.8 degrees tied as the second warmest November on
record with 2009. Houlton with an average of 37.0 degrees had its
8th warmest November. A complete lack of arctic air masses
characterized the month, and although cloudy conditions kept
average high temperatures from being very much above normal,
overnight lows were much above average. At Caribou, the lowest
temperature of the month of 23 degrees recorded on the 7th, 12th,
and 29th was the first time the minimum November temperature
failed to fall to at least into the teens prior to the end of the
month since records began in 1939.

Total precipitation for the month ranged from near average across
the Downeast region and far northern portions of the region to as
little as 70 percent of average over central portions of the
region. With the advent of somewhat colder air masses after the
20th, enough cold air was in place for the remaining precipitation
events to be mostly snow across the far north and a combo of snow
and rain events for central portions of the region. Although
Caribou began the snow season with the second latest first
measurable snow on record on November 21st ending on the 22nd, two
other moderate to heavy snow events followed on the 25th-26th and
29th-30th. This resulted in the month finishing significantly
above average with the monthly total of 20.2 inches making it the
11th snowiest November on record. The snow depth of 16 inches at
Caribou on the 30th was also the 4th highest ever recorded for the
month.

For the combined three month period of September through November,
it ranked as the 2nd warmest fall on record at Caribou with an
average temperature of 47.3 degrees. Only 2011 was any warmer with
an average temperature of 47.8 degrees. It was the 3rd warmest
fall on record at Houlton behind only 2011 and 1961. It did not
rank as a top 10 warmest fall at Bangor. With a total of 20.2
inches of snow at Caribou, it ranked as the 16th snowiest fall on
record, which was a late fall surprise as the first measurable
snow of the season did not fall until the 21st of November.