Fall 2020 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME

806 PM EST MON DEC 7 2020

...FALL 2020 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE...

METEOROLOGICAL FALL (SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER) 2020 FEATURED 

ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST

AND INTO SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY WITH ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION

ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. 

FOR THE 3-MONTH PERIOD, TEMPERATURES AVERAGED FROM 1 TO 3 DEGREES

ABOVE THE 30-YEAR AVERAGE, EXCEPT ACROSS NORTHWEST MAINE WHERE

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED NEAR AVERAGE. CARIBOU WAS THE ONLY LONG TERM 

CLIMATE SITE TO OBSERVE A TOP 10 WARMEST FALL WHERE IT RANKED AS

THE 7TH WARMEST ON RECORD. 

PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 60 TO 90 PERCENT OF AVERAGE DOWNEAST 

AND NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY, AND FROM 100 TO 130 

PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. 

SEPTEMBER CONTINUED THE SUMMER TREND OF VERY DRY CONDITIONS. ONLY

5 TO 40 PERCENT OF THE NORMAL PRECIPITATION WAS OBSERVED. JUST 

0.28 INCHES OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED IN BANGOR, WHICH EASILY MADE IT 

THE DRIEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD. IT WAS ALSO THE DRIEST SEPTEMBER 

ON RECORD IN HOULTON, THE 2ND DRIEST IN CARIBOU, AND 3RD DRIEST IN

MILLINOCKET. MANY RIVERS REACHED ALL-TIME RECORD LOW FLOW LEVELS 

AS DROUGHT CONDITIONS INTENSIFIED WITH SEVERE TO EXTREME DROUGHT 

ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. 

FORTUNES CHANGED IN OCTOBER IN REGARDS TO PRECIPITATION. AFTER

FIVE CONSECUTIVE DRY MONTHS, RAINFALL RANGED FROM 100 TO 130 

PERCENT OF NORMAL DOWNEAST, 130 TO 160 PERCENT OF NORMAL OVER 

CENTRAL AREAS, AND FROM 160 TO 220 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS THE 

NORTH AND CENTRAL HIGHLANDS. BY MONTHS END, 7.21 INCHES OF RAIN 

WAS OBSERVED IN CARIBOU MAKING IT THE 3RD WETTEST ON RECORD. THE 

SEASONS FIRST SNOWFALL OCCURRED ON THE 26TH ACROSS THE NORTH WITH 

1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW, EXCEPT AS MUCH AS 6 TO 10 INCHES IN 

NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THE FAR NORTH 

WAS REMOVED FROM DROUGHT, AND MODERATE DROUGHT REMAINED ACROSS 

MOST OF THE REGION. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WAS IN SOUTHERN HANCOCK 

COUNTY WHICH REMAINED IN SEVERE DROUGHT. 

THE BIG STORY IN NOVEMBER WAS THE RECORD WARMTH ON NOVEMBER 9TH

THROUGH THE 12TH, WHICH WAS PUNCTUATED BY ALL-TIME RECORD 

NOVEMBER TEMPERATURES ON THE 10TH. CARIBOU OBSERVED A HIGH OF 75 

DEGREES (F), WHICH SMASHED THE PREVIOUS MONTHLY RECORD OF 68F. 

HOULTON ALSO HAD AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY HIGH OF 73F, AND EVEN MORE 

IMPRESSIVELY MILLINOCKET HAD AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY HIGH OF 74 

DEGREES, WHICH BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD THAT DATED ALL THE WAY 

BACK TO 1903. PRECIPITATION WAS MORE VARIABLE RANGING FROM 70 TO 

140 PERCENT OF NORMAL, BUT WAS ENOUGH TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE 

DROUGHT CONDITIONS. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, ONLY COASTAL HANCOCK 

REMAINED IN SEVERE DROUGHT, WITH MODERATE DROUGHT NORTH INTO 

CENTRAL HANCOCK AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTIES. SNOWFALL WAS 

ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY, BELOW AVERAGE IN CARIBOU, 

AND NEAR AVERAGE IN BANGOR.

$$

CB/VJN