October 2020 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...OCTOBER 2020 NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE MONTHLY CLIMATE

NARRATIVE...

OCTOBER 2020 FINISHED WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES BUT WITH WELL

ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE.

THE FIRST TWO THIRDS OF THE MONTH HAD MORE ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE

DAYS THAN BELOW, BUT THE LAST THIRD OF THE MONTH FINISHED DECIDELY

BELOW AVERAGE. THE AFTERNOON OF THE 10TH WAS THE WARMEST, WITH MOST

OF THE AREA, EXCEPT THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY, REACHING INTO THE LOWER

70S. THE COLDEST MORNING WAS THE 31ST WHERE MOST LOCATIONS NORTH OF

THE IMMEDIATE COAST EXPERIENCED LOWS IN THE TEENS, WITH SINGLE DIGIT

ABOVE ZERO LOWS IN THE COLDEST NORTHERN VALLEYS.

THE BIGGEST STORY OF THE MONTH WAS TOTAL PRECIPITATION WHICH SHARPLY

REVERSED A PRIOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONTH BELOW AVERAGE TREND AND PUT

A SIGNIFICANT DENT IN THE REGIONAL DROUGHT THAT BEGAN EARLY LAST

SUMMER. RAINFALL TOTALS RANGED UPWARDS FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF

AVERAGE OVER DOWNEAST AREAS TO 130 TO 160 PERCENT OVER CENTRAL AREAS

TO 160 TO 220 PERCENT OF AVERAGE ACROSS THE NORTH AND CENTRAL

HIGHLANDS. THE LARGEST TWO RAINFALL EVENTS FELL BACK TO BACK ON THE

13TH/14TH AND 16TH/17TH WITH MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS THE NORTH AND

CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS RECEIVING UPWARDS TO 2 TO 3 INCHES IN EACH

EVENT. THE DROUGHT PATTERN ACTUALLY BEGAN BREAKING WITH SIGNIFICANT

RAINFALL ON THE 2ND, FOLLOWED BY ADDITIONAL EVENTS EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS

OR SO. AT CARIBOU, THE TOTAL OF 7.21 INCHES FOR OCTOBER 2020 WAS

THIRD WETTEST OF RECORD, SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW THE WETTEST OCTOBER OF

8.73 INCHES SET IN 1990. THE 6.08 INCH TOTAL AT HOULTON WAS THEIR

9TH WETTEST AND THE 6.48 INCH TOTAL AT MILLINOCKET WAS THEIR 15TH

WETTEST OF RECORD.

TYPICAL OF MOST OCTOBERS, THE SEASONS FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON

OCCURRED LATE IN THE MONTH ON 26TH ACROSS THE NORTH WITH MOST

LOCATIONS RECEIVING BETWEEN 1 TO 3 INCHES, EXCEPT LOCALLY HEAVY 6 TO

10 INCHES OF SNOWFALL OVER THE HIGHLANDS OF NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY

NEAR THE QUEBEC BORDER. NOTEWORTHY WINDY DAYS WITH GUSTS IN THE 30S

AND 40S MPH OCCURRED ON THE 8TH-11TH AND AGAIN ON THE 17TH MOSTLY

ASSOCIATED WITH POST COLD FRONTAL NORTHWEST WINDS.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S OUTLOOK FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IS

CALLING FOR INCREASED PROBABILITY OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND

EQUAL CHANCES OF BELOW, NEAR NORMAL, OR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM LOWS/HIGHS OF MID 20S/UPPER 30S FAR

NORTH TO AROUND 30/MID TO UPPER 40S ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST.

AVERAGE PRECIPITATION RANGES FROM ABOUT 3.50 INCHES FAR NORTH TO

4.25 INCHES ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST. AVERAGE SNOWFALL RANGES FROM

ABOUT 2 INCHES ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST TO NEARLY 12 INCHES ACROSS

THE FAR NORTH.

$$

VJN