Meteorological Winter 2022/2023 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE 2022/23 WINTER CLIMATE NARRATIVE...

WINTER (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY) 2022/23 FINISHED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY 

ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION, AND AT TO

ABOVE AVERAGE SNOWFALL.

TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES RANGED FROM 3.5 NORTH TO 5 DEGREES 

ABOVE AVERAGE DOWNEAST FOR THE PERIOD AS A WHOLE. AT BANGOR 

(CARIBOU), THE 26.9 (19.5) RANKED AS THE 3RD (4TH) WARMEST BEHIND 

THE ALL TIME WARMEST OF 29.4 (21.6) RECORDED DURING THE WINTER OF 

1936/37 (2015/16). DECEMBER AND JANUARY WERE, BY FAR, THE WARMEST 

MONTHS OF THIS SEASON, WITH FEBRUARY NEAR OR A LITTLE BELOW 

AVERAGE. OF PARTICULAR NOTE WAS THE BRUTALLY COLD ARCTIC WIND 

CHILL EVENT OF FEBRUARY 3RD/4TH WHICH FEATURED WINDS CHILLS AS LOW

AS -50 TO -60 DEGREES ACROSS THE REGION.

TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE SEASON RANGED FROM 120-140 PERCENT OF

AVERAGE. AT CARIBOU (BANGOR) THE TOTAL OF 12.03 (11.08) INCHES, 

IT WAS THE 4TH (20TH) WETTEST BEHIND THE WETTEST SEASONS OF RECORD

OF 12.62 (16.99) RECORDED DURING THE WINTER OF 2007/08 (1993/84).

DESPITE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES, SNOWFALL WAS MOSTLY A LITTLE

ABOVE CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS RANGING FROM 95-125 PERCENT OF 

AVERAGE.

SNOWPACK RANGED FROM NEAR NORMAL ACROSS THE NORTH, DESPITE A

DELAYED START IN JANUARY DUE TO EARLY SEASON RAIN EVENTS, TO 

BELOW AVERAGE OVER DOWNEAST AREAS WHICH WAS SUBJECT TO 

INTERMITTENT THAWING TEMPERATURES AN RAIN ALL SEASON. THE AVERAGE 

SNOWPACK FOR THE SEASON FOR CARIBOU (BANGOR) WAS 13 (3) INCHES 

COMPARED TO 1991-2020 CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS OF 13 (6). MAXIMUM 

SNOW DEPTH RECORDED DURING THE SEASON AT CARIBOU (BANGOR) WAS 26 

(19) INCHES RECORDED ON JANUARY 31ST (JANUARY 24TH). SNOWPACK 

ACROSS THE NORTH BECAME ESTABLISHED ENOUGH FOR SNOW MOBILING BY 

MID JANUARY AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE REST OF THE SEASON.

THE OUTLOOK FOR SPRING (MARCH-MAY) 2023 FOR THE REGION IS CALLING

FOR SLIGHTLY INCREASED ODDS OF ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND

EQUAL CHANCES OF BELOW, NEAR NORMAL, OR ABOVE NORMAL