2022 Year End Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME

708 PM EST THU JAN 5 2023

...2022 CLIMATE REVIEW FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE...

2022 FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE 

PRECIPITATION. IN CARIBOU IT RANKED AT THE 9TH WARMEST YEAR ON 

RECORD. IN HOULTON IT RANKED AT THE 5TH WARMEST.  AT MILLINOCKET IT 

WAS THE 6TH WARMEST, AND AT BANGOR THE 4TH WARMEST ON RECORD.

PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL WITH THE 

GREATEST DEPARTURES ACROSS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY AND NORTHWEST 

AROOSTOOK COUNTY. IT RANKED AS THE 11TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD AT 

CARIBOU, AND THE 10TH WETTEST AT BANGOR.  IN HOULTON IT RANKED AS 

THE 13TH WETTEST ON RECORD. 

JANUARY: WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH.  IT WAS THE 

COLDEST JANUARY SINCE 2009.  THE LOW OF 30 BELOW IN CARIBOU ON THE 

MORNING OF THE 27TH WAS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED SINCE 2009. 

THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE WAS A LOW OF 

39 BELOW AT MASARDIS ON THE MORNING OF THE 27TH. ASIDE FROM IT BEING 

A COLD MONTH, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT WAS A WINTER STORM 

ON THE 29TH INTO THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 30TH WHICH BROUGHT HEAVY 

SNOW, STRONG WIND, EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW, AND BLIZZARD 

CONDITIONS AT TIMES ACROSS THE DOWNEAST REGION WITH LOCAL BLIZZARD 

CONDITIONS AS FAR NORTH AS SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY.  

FEBRUARY: FEATURED NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE 

SNOWFALL. A WINTER STORM ON THE 4TH INTO THE 5TH PRODUCED HEAVY 

SNOWFALL ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS, AND PRODUCED AN AMAZING 5.3 INCHES 

OF SLEET AT EASTPORT.  BANGOR SET AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY TEMPERATURE 

RECORD ON THE 23RD WITH A HIGH OF 65F.  THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS 

RECORD OF 60F, WHICH HAD STOOD SINCE FEBRUARY 21, 1937. AN ALL-TIME 

RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED WITH 

A LOW OF 42F ON THE 17TH, WHICH BROKE THE RECORD OF 41F SET ON 

FEBRUARY 21, 1981. 

MARCH: SIMILAR TO FEBRUARY THERE WERE FREQUENT ALTERNATING SPELLS OF 

BOTH ABOVE AVERAGE AND BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. FOR THE MONTH AS 

A WHOLE TEMPERATURES WERE A BIT BELOW AVERAGE NORTH AND A LITTLE 

WARMER THAN NORMAL DOWNEAST. SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE NORTH AND 

BELOW AVERAGE IN BANGOR AND DOWNEAST WHERE THERE WERE MORE RAIN 

EVENTS. THE SNOWPACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH RANGED FROM 15 TO 30 

INCHES NORTH WITH 3 FEET ON THE GROUND AT ALLAGASH. MOST OF THE SNOW 

MELTED OUT IN BANGOR AND ALONG THE COAST DURING THE FIRST WEEK TO 10 

DAYS OF THE MONTH. 

APRIL: FINISHED WITH SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, ABOVE 

AVERAGE PRECIPITATION, AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. SNOWFALL WAS 

SCANT WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT ON THE 28TH-29TH WITH 2 TO 5 

INCHES ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS WITH A COUPLE OF SPOTS SUCH AS MARS 

HILL AND JEMTLAND WHICH RECEIVED 8 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW. ICE OUT WAS 

RELATIVELY SMOOTH ON THE NORTHERN RIVERS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT 

FLOODING. 

MAY: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 

WELL ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE FAR NORTH TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST. 

THE HIGH OF 90F IN CARIBOU ON THE 13TH NOT ONLY SMASHED THE PREVIOUS 

DAILY RECORD BY A DOZEN DEGREES, IT WAS THE 2ND EARLIEST 90 DEGREE 

DAY ON RECORD BEHIND ONLY MAY 9, 1979. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT OF 

THE MONTH WAS HEAVY RAIN ACROSS FAR NORTHERN AREAS LATE IN THE MONTH 

THAT PRODUCED LOCAL THREE-DAY TOTALS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES AND CAUSED 

ROUTE 1 IN CYR PLANTATION TO COLLAPSE DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF 

FLASH FLOODING AND A BEAVER DAM THAT BROKE LOOSE. 

JUNE: WAS COOLER THAN AVERAGE AND FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE 

PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTH AND DRIER THAN NORMAL ACROSS CENTRAL 

AND DOWNEAST AREAS. THE HIGH ON THE 19TH OF 49F AT CARIBOU WAS 

UNUSUALLY COOL.  THE WARMEST WEATHER WAS LATE IN THE MONTH ON THE 

25TH AND 26TH WITH WIDESPREAD HIGHS IN THE 80S AND LOWER 90S. BY THE 

END OF THE MONTH, MODERATE DROUGHT WAS OBSERVED ACROSS MUCH OF 

HANCOCK COUNTY, SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY, AND EXTREME SOUTHERN 

PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. 

JULY: WAS A LITTLE WARMER THAN AVERAGE, AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE 

ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. DRIER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS WERE 

OBSERVED FROM BANGOR SOUTH TO THE COAST AND IN PARTS OF WASHINGTON 

COUNTY, AND IN PARTS OF NORTHWEST MAINE. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS 

EXPANDED A BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTH TO INCLUDE CENTRAL PENOBSCOT 

COUNT AS WELL AS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. THERE WERE NO 90 DEGREE 

DAYS IN CARIBOU OR HOULTON, BUT THREE CONSECUTIVE 90 DEGREE DAYS 

WERE OBSERVED AT BANGOR FROM THE 22ND TO THE 24TH.

AUGUST: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WITH THE MOST 

SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES DOWNEAST. PRECIPITATION WAS HIGHLY VARIABLE 

AND DEPENDENT ON THUNDERSTORMS. OVERALL, THE GREATEST TOTALS WERE 

OBSERVED ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS WITH LESSER AMOUNTS 

TOWARD THE COAST. DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVED, AND BY THE END OF THE 

MONTH NO PART OF THE REGION WAS IN DROUGHT WITH ONLY ABNORMALLY DRY 

CONDITIONS NOTED ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION.  

SEPTEMBER: FINISHED WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE 

TEMPERATURES, AND NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL, EXCEPT BELOW 

AVERAGE ACROSS THE FAR NORTH.  THE FIRST FROST AND FREEZE OF THE 

SEASON OCCURRED ON THE 19TH WHEN MAINLY OF THE NORTHERN VALLEYS 

DROPPED BELOW FREEZING AND ESTCOURT STATION HAD A LOW OF 24F. 

ANOTHER ROUND OF FROST AND FREEZE WAS OBSERVED ON THE 29TH, THIS 

TIME ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO THE VALLEYS OF DOWNEAST MAINE. 

OCTOBER: ENDED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL 

THAT VARIED FROM WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE. THE 

MONTH ENDED AS THE 3RD WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD AT BOTH CARIBOU AND 

HOULTON, THE 5TH WARMEST AT MILLINOCKET, AND THE 10TH WARMEST AT 

BANGOR. CARIBOU HAD 21 DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 60F OR WARMER, WHICH WAS 

THE MOST ON RECORD. AREAS THAT DID NOT EXPERIENCE A HARD FREEZE IN 

SEPTEMBER DID DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER. FALL FOLIAGE PEAKED 

DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE MONTH IN THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY AND BY 

MID-MONTH ALONG THE COAST.  IN BANGOR, IT ENDED AS THE 3RD WETTEST 

OCTOBER ON RECORD WITH JUST SHY OF 9 INCHES OF RAIN.  NO SNOW WAS 

OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT 

UNUSUAL FOR NORTHERN AREAS. 

NOVEMBER: BEGAN WITH RECORD WARMTH, AND BACK-TO-BACK HIGHS IN THE 

70S AT CARIBOU FOR THE FIRST TIME ON RECORD. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 

59F AT CARIBOU ON THE 6TH ESTABLISHED AN ALL-TIME RECORD WARM LOW 

TEMPERATURE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.  FOR THE MONTH AS A 

WHOLE, TEMPERATURES AVERAGED FROM 1.5 TO 4 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE. 

PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE AVERAGE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME SPOTS IN 

HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES WHERE PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW 

AVERAGE. SNOWFALL WAS BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND BANGOR ONLY 

OBSERVED 1 INCH OF SNOW FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH. SNOWFALL WAS A BIT 

ABOVE AVERAGE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN MAINE WITH 14.3 INCHES AT CARIBOU. 

BY THE END OF THE MONTH THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES 

NORTH OF THE KATAHDIN REGION WITH NO SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM 

MILLINOCKET TO THE COAST.

DECEMBER: WAS MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE WITH NEAR TO ABOVE AVERAGE 

PRECIPITATION AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL.  IT RANKED AS THE 3RD 

WARMEST ON RECORD AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON AND THE 4TH WARMEST ON 

RECORD AT MILLINOCKET AND BANGOR. THE LOW MONTHLY TEMPERATURES IN 

CARIBOU OF ZERO WAS OBSERVED ON THE 28TH AND WAS THE 4TH LATEST 

FIRST ZERO OCCURRENCE. SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ON THE 3RD AND 7TH 

LIQUIDATED EARLY SNOWPACKS FROM NOVEMBER.  SNOWFALL ACROSS THE 

REGION WAS RELATIVELY LIGHT.  THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT WAS A 

PROLONGED EVENT FROM THE 16TH TO THE 19TH THAT PRODUCED TOTALS 

UPWARDS TO 20 INCHES OVER SOME CENTRAL AND WESTERN AREAS. THE 

MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH AT CARIBOU WAS 13 INCHES AND AT BANGOR WAS 9 

INCHES, BUT MOST OF IT DID NOT LAST TILL THE END OF THE MONTH DUE TO 

MILD TEMPS AND RAIN. A RAIN AND WIND STORM ON THE 23RD PRODUCED 60 

TO 75 MPH WIND AND DOWNED MANY TREES AND POWERLINES AND KNOCKED OUT 

POWER TO 25 TO 30 PERCENT OF THE REGION.  POWER WAS NOT RESTORED FOR 

NEARLY A WEEK IN MORE REMOTE AREAS DOWNEAST. 

$$

CB/VJN