Saturday, May 04, 2024

April 2024 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

APRIL 2024 FINISHED WITH ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND BELOW 
AVERAGE TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM 0.5 TO 2.0 DEGREES (F) 
ABOVE THE 30-YEAR 1991-2020 NORMALS. HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH 
THAT ANY OF THE LONG TERM CLIMATE SITES HAD A TOP 10 WARMEST 
APRIL. 

PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM AROUND 33 PERCENT OF NORMAL IN 
NORTHEASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY TO AROUND 90 PERCENT OF NORMAL NEAR 
GREENVILLE. THE TOTAL RAIN (AND MELTED SNOW) FOR CARIBOU WAS 1.02 
INCHES. THIS MADE APRIL 2024 THE 6TH DRIEST ON RECORD FOR CARIBOU, 
WHERE RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1939. AT HOULTON, 1.56 INCHES OF RAIN 
(AND MELTED SNOW) FELL DURING THE MONTH. THIS MADE APRIL 2024 THE 
13TH DRIEST ON RECORD FOR HOULTON, WHERE RECORDS DATE BACK TO 1948. 
NO OTHER SITES RECORDED A TOP 15 DRIEST OR WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD.

SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE NORMAL FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS SOUTHWARD TO 
THE BANGOR REGION AND DOWNEAST. IN BANGOR, 9.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL 
DURING THE MONTH, WHICH WAS 5.3 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. IT WAS ALSO 
THE 14TH HIGHEST TOTAL FOR ANY APRIL SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1926. 
ALL OF THIS SNOW FELL DURING A LONG-DURATION EVENT ON APRIL 3RD INTO 
APRIL 5TH. THE MAXIMUM SNOWFALL WITH THIS STORM OCCURRED IN WESTERN 
PORTIONS OF HANCOCK, PENOBSCOT AND PISCATAQUIS COUNTIES WHERE 12 TO 
16 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. AMOUNTS DECREASED TO THE NORTH AND EAST, 
TAPERING TO AROUND 1 TO 3 INCHES IN NORTHEASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY. 
AT CARIBOU, JUST 1.4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL DURING APRIL 2024. THIS WAS 
6.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND TIED FOR THE 7TH LEAST SNOWY APRIL ON 
RECROD.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE SNOW DEPTH WAS ZERO NEAR BANGOR AND 
AT THE COAST. ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS, SNOW DEPTH RANGED 
FROM 4 TO 9 INCHES IN LOWER ELEVATIONS, AND 10 TO 18 INCHES AT 
HIGHER ELEVATIONS. IN CARIBOU, SNOW DEPTH DECREASED TO A TRACE ON 
APRIL 7TH AND REMAINED THERE (OR LOWER) THROUGH THE END OF THE 
MONTH. MOST OTHER PLACES IN THE NORTH HAD ZERO SNOW DEPTH BY THE 
15TH, WITH SOME OF THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS NOT REACHING ZERO SNOW 
DEPTH UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH.

FOLLOWING THE APRIL 3-5 STORM, THE SNOW DEPTH IN BANGOR 
REACHED 9 INCHES ON APRIL 5TH. THIS WAS THE LARGEST SNOW DEPTH OF 
THE 2023-2024 SEASON AT BANGOR. SNOW DEPTH AT BANGOR FELL TO ZERO ON 
APRIL 9TH AND REMAINED THERE THROUGH THE MONTH.

REMAINING ICE ON THE SAINT JOHN AND ALLAGASH RIVERS WENT OUT BY THE 
SECOND WEEK OF APRIL. MOOSEHEAD LAKE REPORTED ICE OUT ON APRIL 20TH. 
THIS WAS EARLIER THAN AVERAGE, BUT STILL LATER THAN THE RECORD EARLY 
ICE OUT ON APRIL 14, 1945. ICE WENT OUT ON ALL NORTHERN LAKES BY THE 
END OF THE MONTH.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER'S FORECAST FOR MAY 2024 INDICATES THAT 
THE ODDS ARE SLIGHTLY TILTED TOWARD ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. 
THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FOR ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE 
PRECIPITATION.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH OF MAY, AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE MID 
50S IN THE NORTH TO AROUND 60 DEGREES NEAR BANGOR. AVERAGE LOWS 
RANGE FROM THE MID 30S IN THE NORTH TO NEAR 40 DEGREES AT THE COAST. 
BY THE END OF THE MONTH, AVERAGE HIGHS RISE TO THE UPPER 60S FOR 
MOST OF THE AREA, AND NEAR 70 DEGREES IN BANGOR. 

ON AVERAGE, 3 TO 4 INCHES OF LIQUID PRECIPITATION IS OBSERVED ACROSS 
THE AREA DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. SNOW CAN STILL FALL DURING THE 
MONTH OF MAY. HOWEVER, ANY SNOW GENERALLY MELTS QUICKLY AFTER IT 
FALLS OWING TO HIGHER SUN ANGLE AND WARMER TEMPERATURES. AT CARIBOU, 
THE AVERAGE SNOWFALL FOR MAY IS 0.8 INCHES. MEASURABLE SNOW HAS 
OCCURRED IN 23 YEARS, AND AT LEAST A TRACE OF SNOW IN 63 YEARS SINCE 
RECORDS BEGAN. IN BANGOR, THERE HAS BEEN MEASURABLE SNOW IN MAY 6 
TIMES AND AT LEAST A TRACE IN 23 YEARS. FROST CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME 
OF THE MONTH ACROSS THE NORTHERN VALLEYS, BUT BECOMES LESS COMMON BY 
MID TO LATE MONTH ACROSS THE DOWNEAST REGION.