December 2023 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...DECEMBER 2023 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE...

DECEMBER 2023 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION, BUT WELL BELOW AVERAGE 

SNOWFALL AND SNOW DEPTH.  

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA RANGED FROM 5.5 TO 7.0 DEGREES F ABOVE 

1991-2020 NORMALS, RANGING FROM NEAR 26.0 OVER THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY 

TO 32.0 OVER DOWNEAST AREAS. IT WAS THE 2ND WARMEST DECEMBER ON 

RECORD FOR CARIBOU AND HOULTON, A TIE FOR 3RD WARMEST FOR 

MILLINOCKET, AND 4TH WARMEST FOR BANGOR. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH 

WAS CLOSE TO AVERAGE, BUT THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH WAS WELL 

ABOVE AVERAGE CULMINATING WITH RECORD HIGH TEMPS OF 50S UPWARDS TO 

AROUND 60 ON THE 18TH AND 19TH WITH DAILY DEPARTURES ON THE 18TH AS 

HIGH 30 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. LOWEST TEMPERATURES OF THE MONTH 

OCCURRED ON THE MORNING OF THE 6TH WITH MANY LOCATIONS EXPERIENCING 

LOWS OF ZERO OR LESS WITH FAR NORTHWEST VALLEY LOCATIONS AS LOW AS 

10 BELOW. BANGOR EXPERIENCED SUB-ZERO LOWS FROM THE 6TH-8TH.

AVERAGE TOTAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA VARIED GREATLY FROM 90 

PERCENT OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST UPWARDS TO 200 PERCENT OR MORE OF 

1991-2020 NORMALS OVER SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE REGION WITH THE 

VAST MAJORITY RECEIVING WELL ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR 

DECEMBER. TWO EVENTS COMPOSED THE MAJORITY OF PRECIPITATION FOR THIS 

MONTH WITH THE FIRST ON THE 10-11TH AND THE SECOND ON THE 18TH WHERE 

1.50-2.50 INCHES OCCURRED WITH EACH EVENT AT THE CLIMATE SITES, 

MOSTLY OR ENTIRELY IN THE FORM OF RAIN.

WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THIS MONTH PRECLUDED MUCH IN THE 

WAY OF SNOWFALL AT THE CLIMATE SITES, RANGING ONLY 25 TO 50 PERCENT 

OF NORMAL. SNOWFALL WAS GREATER OVER THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND FAR 

NORTHWEST NEAR THE QUEBEC BORDER, UPWARDS TO 75 PERCENT OF AVERAGE. 

AT CARIBOU, THE GREATEST SNOW DAY OF 2.7 INCHES ON THE 13TH WAS A 

RESULT OF ORGANIZED NARROW SNOW SHOWER BANDING ASSOCIATED WITH THE 

PASSAGE OF AN ARCTIC FRONT RATHER THAN A LARGE SCALE LOW PRESSURE 

SYSTEM, WITH LOCATIONS JUST NORTH IN THE CENTER OF THE BAND 

RECEIVING UPWARDS TO 6 INCHES. AT BANGOR THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OF 

THE MONTH WAS THE 6.4 INCH EVENT THAT FELL ON THE 4TH WITH A 

DEVELOPING COASTAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM.

DUE TO MANY THAWING TEMPERATURE DAYS, LITTLE SNOWFALL, AND TWO MAJOR 

RAIN EVENTS, AVERAGE SNOW DEPTH ACROSS ALL OF THE REGION WAS WELL 

BELOW AVERAGE ABOUT 20 TO 50 PERCENT OF 1991-2020 NORMALS. THE HEAVY 

WARM RAIN EVENT OF THE 18TH COMPLETELY ERADICATED ANY SNOW PACK 

ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. FOR INSTANCE, CARIBOU HAD A TRACE OR LESS 

OF SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM THE MORNING OF THE 16TH THROUGH THE 

MORNING OF THE 29TH WITH ZERO SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM 18TH-28TH. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS GREATLY IMPACTED THE TRADITIONAL START OF 

SKIING AND SNOW MOBILE SEASON USUALLY UNDERWAY BY THE LAST WEEK OF 

THE MONTH. WITH A LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL LATER ON THE 28TH INTO 

THE 29TH, A LIGHT SNOW PACK RETURNED TO MOST OF THE REGION AT THE 

CLOSE OF THE MONTH, BUT NOT ENOUGH FOR SNOW MOBILING AT THIS TIME.

LASTLY OF SPECIAL NOTE WAS THE HEAVY RAIN/HIGH WIND EVENT OF THE 

18TH. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED AT THE 

CLIMATE SITES, WAS FLOODING RAINFALL TOTALS UPWARDS TO 5 INCHES OVER 

THE CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS WHICH RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT RIVER 

FLOODING OVER THE PISCATAQUIS AND PENOBSCOT RIVER VALLEYS. FOR THE 

SECOND DECEMBER IN A ROW, THIS EVENT WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY 

WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS, THIS TIME FROM THE SOUTH, RESULTING IN 

NUMEROUS DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES AND OVER 90,000 POWER OUTAGES. 

ALTHOUGH BY CHRISTMAS DAY, THE VAST MAJORITY WHO SUFFERED OUTAGES 

HAD POWER RETURNED, THERE WERE STILL SOME RESIDENCES WITHOUT POWER.

STRONG SOUTH WINDS ALSO RESULTED IN SOME MINOR COASTAL FLOODING AT 

THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER'S FORECAST FOR JANUARY 2024 IS CALLING 

FOR MUCH GREATER ODDS OF ABOVE NORMAL RATHER THAN NORMAL OR 

ESPECIALLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE AVERAGE 

ODDS OF ABOVE RATHER THAN NEAR NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM LOWS/HIGHS OF AROUND ZERO/20 DEGREES 

F OVER THE FAR NORTH TO AROUND 10/AROUND 30 ALONG THE DOWNEAST 

COAST. AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR THE ENTIRE REGION IS AROUND 3.00 

INCHES. AVERAGE MONTHLY SNOWFALL/SNOW DEPTH RANGES FROM 15/5 INCHES 

ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST UPWARDS TO 30/15 INCHES OVER THE NORTHERN 

AND CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS.