Spring 2018 Climate Summary for Northern & Eastern Maine

...SPRING SEASON CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE...

THE METEOROLOGICAL SPRING OF 2018 COMPRISING THE 3-MONTH PERIOD
OF MARCH THROUGH MAY FINISHED WITH ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND
SNOWFALL. PRECIPITATION WAS MORE VARIABLE, BUT IN MOST AREAS WAS
ABOVE AVERAGE.

A TOTAL OF 35.3 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED AT BANGOR, WHICH MADE
IT THE 6TH SNOWIEST SPRING ON RECORD. AT CARIBOU, A TOTAL OF 34.9
INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED, AND THIS RANKED AS THE 21ST SNOWIEST
SPRING ON RECORD. TEMPERATURES AS A WHOLE WERE ABOVE AVERAGE, AND
IT RANKED AS THE 16TH WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD AT CARIBOU AND THE
23RD WARMEST AT BANGOR.

MARCH GOT OFF TO A VERY MILD START WITH ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH DUE TO VERY MILD LOW TEMPERATURES.
TEMPERATURES WERE MUCH COLDER THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH, AND IN
FACT AVERAGED ABOUT 4 DEGREES COLDER THAN THE FIRST HALF OF THE
MONTH. THERE WERE 2 MAJOR SNOWSTORMS IN MARCH. THE FIRST, ON MARCH
7-8 PRODUCED WIDESPREAD TOTALS OF 8 TO 14 INCHES ACROSS THE
REGION. THE SECOND, ON MARCH 13-14, WAS THE BIGGEST OF THE WINTER
ACROSS MOST OF THE DOWNEAST REGION AND CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WITH 18
TO 25 INCHES WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS AS HIGH AS 30 INCHES AROUND BANGOR
AND CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. THE SNOW PACK AT THE END OF THE
MONTH RANGED FROM 18 TO 25 INCHES ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN
AREAS, AND FROM A TRACE TO 10 INCHES ACROSS THE DOWNEAST REGION.

APRIL STARTED VERY COLD WITH BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THE FIRST
HALF OF THE MONTH. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH RANKED AS THE 3RD
COLDEST ON RECORD AT HOULTON, THE 4TH COLDEST AT MILLINOCKET, 5TH
COLDEST AT CARIBOU, AND THE 7TH COLDEST AT BANGOR. TEMPERATURES
WERE MUCH MILDER THE 2ND HALF OF THE MONTH. THE FIRST 60 DEGREE
TEMPERATURES OF THE SEASON WHERE OBSERVED FROM CARIBOU SOUTH TO
BANGOR ON THE 23RD. IT WAS THE 3RD WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD AT
CARIBOU AND THE 16TH WETTEST ON RECORD AT BANGOR. AT THE END OF
APRIL, THERE WAS STILL 12 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND IN
PARTS OF THE NORTH WOODS, WITH PATCHES OF SNOW EAST INTO NORTHEAST
AROOSTOOK COUNTY.

MAY FINISHED WITH ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION. THE MONTH FEATURED LARGE DIURNAL RANGES FROM THE
HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES WITH FREQUENT COOL AND WARM SPELLS. THE
WARMEST DAY WAITED UNTIL THE 31ST WITH SOME LOCATIONS EXCEEDING 90
DEGREES. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES AS A WHOLE WHERE ABOVE AVERAGE,
THE AIR MASS WAS VERY DRY, WHICH FREQUENT OCCURRENCE OF FROSTS AND
BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES DEEP INTO THE MONTH. THERE WERE 6
NIGHTS WITH A LOW OF 32 DEGREES OR LOWER AT CARIBOU, THE MOST
SINCE 2007. PRECIPITATION WAS ONLY 55 TO 70 PERCENT OF AVERAGE
WITH LENGTHY PERIODS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL. NO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH OF MAY.