August 2021 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME

413 PM EDT WED SEP 1 2021

...AUGUST 2021 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE...

AUGUST 2021 FINISHED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES 

AND MOSTLY BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL ACROSS THE REGION.

TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH RANGED FROM 2.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE 1991-

2020 AVERAGES OVER DOWNEAST AREAS UPWARDS TO 5.0 DEGREES ABOVE 

AVERAGE ACROSS THE NORTH. IN FACT, IT WAS THE WARMEST AUGUST OF 

RECORD AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON, THE 2ND WARMEST AT MILLINOCKET, AND 

7TH WARMEST AT BANGOR WITH MONTHLY MEANS OF 69.5, 69.2, 70.4, AND 

70.9 RESPECTIVELY. PRIOR WARMEST AUGUSTS AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON WERE 

68.9 FOR 2018 AND 67.9 IN 1973, RESPECTFULLY. WARMEST AUGUSTS FOR 

MILLINOCKET AND BANGOR WERE RECORDED IN 1937 WITH 70.4 AND 75.1 

RESPECTIVELY. 

INTERESTINGLY AT CARIBOU, THE TOP FOUR WARMEST AUGUSTS OF RECORD 

HAVE BEEN RECORDED SINCE 2012 IN SUCCESSIVE ORDER EVERY 3 YEARS WITH 

68.0 IN 2012, 68.2 IN 2015, 68.9 IN 2018, IN ADDITION TO THIS 

CURRENT MONTHS AVERAGE OF 69.5 DEGREES. MAKES IT INTERESTING TO WAIT 

FOR THE OUTCOME OF AUGUST 2024. ALSO, THIS MONTH AT CARIBOU FEATURED 

17 DAYS OF HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 80+ DEGREES INCLUDING 3 DAYS OF 90+ 

HIGHS. 90+ DEGREE HIGH TEMPERATURES OCCURRED SOMEWHERE ACROSS THE 

REGION ON THE 12TH-13TH, 19TH, AND 26TH. 

TOTAL RAINFALL RANGED FROM AS LOW AS 40 PERCENT OF AVERAGE ACROSS 

THE NORTH AND FAR WEST, INCLUDING THE LOWER PENOBSCOT VALLEY WHERE 

RAINFALL CONSISTED MOSTLY OF HIT OR MISS SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS 

UPWARDS TO 100 PERCENT ACROSS PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST 

DOWNEAST AREAS WHERE HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THE REMNANT LOW PRESSURE OF 

HENRI WAS ABLE TO REACH ON THE 23RD AND 24TH BEFORE DEPARTING INTO 

THE CANADIAN MARITIMES. 

IN CARIBOU, A TOTAL OF 2.46" OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH 

WITH 4.19" OF TOTAL EVAPORATION FOR THE MONTH. BY THE END OF AUGUST, 

MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN SOMERSET 

COUNTY, MOST OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY, AND ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN 

AROOSTOOK COUNTY. ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED ACROSS 

MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. THE ONLY AREAS 

THAT WERE NOT LISTED AS ABNORMALLY DRY WERE HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON 

COUNTIES. 

THE OUTLOOK FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION 

CENTER IS CALLING FOR GREATER PROBABILITIES OF ABOVE AVERAGE 

TEMPERATURES. THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS THAT 

WOULD POINT TOWARD IT BEING UNUSUALLY WET OR DRY ACROSS MOST OF THE 

REGION, BUT THE ODDS ARE SLIGHTLY TILTED TOWARD ABOVE AVERAGE 

PRECIPITATION ALONG THE COAST. OVER 1 1/2 HOURS OF DAYLIGHT IS LOST 

DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. FROST IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN 

VALLEYS ANYTIME DURING THE MONTH, BUT BECOMES INCREASINGLY LIKELY 

DURING THE 2ND HALF OF THE MONTH. ALONG THE COAST, FROST IS UNLIKELY 

DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH AND IS POSSIBLE DURING THE 2ND 

HALF OF THE MONTH, ALTHOUGH IT REMAINS UNLIKELY ALONG THE IMMEDIATE 

COAST. THE NEW 1991-2020 AVERAGE RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 

IS 3.44" IN CARIBOU AND 3.76" IN BANGOR. 

$$

CB/VJN