March 2024 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...MARCH 2024 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE...

MARCH 2024 FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE

AVERAGE TO RECORD PRECIPITATION.

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM 4.5 TO 6.5 DEGREES (F)

ABOVE THE 30-YEAR 1991-2020 NORMALS. IT RANKED AS THE 6TH WARMEST

MARCH ON RECORD IN CARIBOU, TIED FOR THE 9TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD

IN HOULTON, TIED FOR THE 8TH WARMEST MARCH IN MILLINOCKET, AND TIED

FOR THE 8TH WARMEST IN BANGOR.

PRECIPITATION WAS WELL ABOVE AVERAGE AND RANGED FROM 150 TO 250

PERCENT OF NORMAL. IN BANGOR IT WAS BY A LONG SHOT THE ALL-TIME

WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD WITH 8.99 INCHES OF RAIN (AND MELTED SNOW)

BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 7.36 INCHES IN 1999. IT RANKED AS

THE 2ND WETTEST MONTH ON RECORD IN BANGOR DURING THE MONTHS OF

JANUARY THROUGH AUGUST, AND AS THE 10TH WETTEST MONTH ON RECORD.

CARIBOU ALSO OBSERVED THE ALL-TIME WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD WITH A

TOTAL OF 5.74 INCHES OF RAIN (AND MELTED SNOW), WHICH SURPASSED THE

PREVIOUS RECORD OF 5.27 INCHES IN 2008. A NEW ALL-TIME RECORD WAS

ALSO ESTABLISHED IN HOULTON WHERE A TOTAL OF 5.68 INCHES OF RAIN

(AND MELTED SNOW), WHICH SURPASSED THE 5.21 INCHES THAT WAS OBSERVED

IN MARCH 1953. FINALLY, IN MILLINOCKET THE 6.17 INCHES OF RAIN (AND

MELTED SNOW) RANKED AS THE 4TH WETTEST MARCH. IT SHOULD BE NOTED

THAT THE PRECIPITATION DATA ON THE 24TH WAS UNAVAILABLE AT BOTH

HOULTON AND MILLINOCKET DUE TO EQUIPMENT ISSUES.

SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE IN CARIBOU WITH A TOTAL OF 29.8 INCHES

FOR THE MONTH, WHICH WAS 8.4 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. IN BANGOR, A

TOTAL OF 9.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED, WHICH WAS 5.7 INCHES BELOW

AVERAGE. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT OF THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE

23RD INTO THE 24TH WHEN SOME LOCATIONS IN EASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY

SOUTH AND EAST OF CARIBOU OBSERVED 20 TO 25 INCHES OF SNOW.

THERE WERE ALSO 20 INCH+ TOTALS OBSERVED IN PARTS OF PISCATAQUIS AND

NORTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE SNOW DEPTH ACROSS THE REGION RANGED

FROM ZERO TO AN INCH IN BANGOR AND ALONG THE COAST. ACROSS CENTRAL

AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION, THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 2 TO

8 INCHES, BUT WITH LOCALLY A FOOT OR MORE ACROSS THE HIGHEST

TERRAIN. AT THE END OF THE MONTH, THERE WAS NO SNOW ALONG THE COAST

AND IN BANGOR, 2 TO 6 INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF

THE AREA AS WELL AS NORTH INTO CARIBOU AND THE EASTERN SAINT JOHN

VALLEY, AND FROM 10 TO 20 INCHES ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE

NORTH WOODS.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S FORECAST FOR APRIL 2024 INDICATES

THAT THE ODDS ARE SLIGHTLY TILTED TOWARD ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES.

THE ODDS ARE ALSO SLIGHTLY TILTED TOWARD BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION

ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS. THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNAL THAT IT

WILL BE UNUSUAL WET OR DRY ALONG THE COAST.

DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL, THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ACROSS NORTHERN

AND EASTERN MAINE UNDERGO THE LARGEST RISE OF ANY MONTH OF THE YEAR.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE UPPER

30S ACROSS THE FAR NORTH TO THE MID 40S ALONG THE COAST. BY THE END

OF THE MONTH, THE AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE MID 50S NORTH TO NEAR

60F IN BANGOR, BUT COOLER ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST OWING TO THE

COLD OCEAN WATER TEMPERATURES.

ON AVERAGE 3 TO 3.75 INCHES OF LIQUID PRECIPITATION IS OBSERVED.

SNOWFALL AVERAGES 3.7 INCHES IN BANGOR AND 8.3 INCHES IN CARIBOU. IN

MOST YEARS THE SNOW PACK MELTS OUT DURING THE FIRST HALF OF APRIL,

BUT SNOW MAY REMAIN ON THE GROUND IN WOODED AREAS FOR A COUPLE OF

WEEKS AFTER THE SNOW HAS MELTED OUT OF IN NORTHERN TOWNS AND OPEN

FIELDS. THUNDERSTORM REMAIN A FAIRLY RARE OCCURRENCE BEING OBSERVED

ON AVERAGE OF ABOUT ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.

$$

CB/VJN