...DECEMBER 2024 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE...
DECEMBER 2024 FEATURED NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES,
NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION, AND GENERALLY BELOW AVERAGE
SNOWFALL AND SNOW DEPTH. TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM NEAR NORMAL
TOWARDS BANGOR AND DOWNEAST AND 1 TO 2 DEGREES (F) ABOVE THE 1991-
2020 NORMALS IN THE NORTH. PRECIPITATION WAS GENERALLY BETWEEN 100
AND 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL. NO CLIMATE SITE FINISHED IN THE TOP 10
EXTREMES FOR TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, OR SNOWFALL.
TEMPERATURES WERE UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE MONTH, WITH ALTERNATING
PERIODS OF COLD AND THAWS. THE MONTH BEGAN WITH BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES, WITH CARIBOU RECORDING A 0 DEGREE LOW ON THE 8TH. A
SNOWPACK DEVELOPED DURING THIS TIME. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A WARM
SPELL ON THE 11TH AND 12TH WHERE HIGHS REACHED WELL INTO THE 50S. A
RAINSTORM CAME WITH THE WARMUP, WHICH MELTED THE SNOWPACK OUTSIDE OF
THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND THE NORTH WOODS. A SEASONABLE COLD SNAP
FOLLOWED BEFORE ANOTHER WARM SPELL ARRIVED FOR THE 17TH. ANOTHER
COLD PERIOD FOLLOWED THROUGH CHRISTMAS AND A FEW DAYS AFTER. THIS
RESULTED IN SUB-ZERO LOW TEMPERATURES FOR BOTH CARIBOU AND BANGOR.
SNOWPACK ALSO RECOVERED A BIT DURING THIS TIME THANKS TO A COUPLE OF
SNOW EVENTS. THIS SNOWPACK WAS LARGELY WIPED OUT BY A WARMUP AND
RAIN EVENT ON THE 30TH AND 31ST EXCEPT IN PARTS OF THE NORTH WOODS.
ALL TOLD, CARIBOU FINISHED THE MONTH WITH 4 DAYS THAT SAW A HIGH
TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST 50 DEGREES. THIS WAS 1 SHY OF THE DECEMBER
RECORD FOR 50F+ HIGH TEMPERATURES SET BACK IN 1973.
THE LARGEST PRECIPITATION EVENT OF THE MONTH WAS THE AFOREMENTIONED
RAIN EVENT ON THE 11TH AND 12TH OF DECEMBER. RAINFALL TOTALS RANGED
FROM AROUND 1 INCH AT THE DOWNEAST COAST, TO 2 TO 3 INCHES FROM THE
BANGOR REGION NORTH AND WEST. THE RAIN AND SNOWMELT FROM THIS EVENT
DID CAUSE SOME MINOR FLOODING. IN ADDITION, WINDS GUSTED 50-60 MPH
ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION, WITH A GUST AS HIGH AS 67 MPH AT BAR
HARBOR. THESE WINDS KNOCKED DOWN TREES AND POWERLINES IN MANY AREAS.
POWER WAS RESTORED QUICKLY ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS AND WITHIN A COUPLE
OF DAYS FOR BANGOR AND DOWNEAST.
SNOWFALL WAS NEAR NORMAL IN SOUTHERN PISCATAQUIS COUNTY EASTWARD
INTO INTERIOR PENOBSCOT COUNTY AND INTO WASHINGTON COUNTY.
ELSEWHERE, SNOWFALL WAS BELOW NORMAL. IN CARIBOU, THE LARGEST
SNOWFALL WAS 6.1 INCHES ON THE 5TH WITH A REDEVELOPING CLIPPER
SYSTEM. AFTER THE STORM, SNOW DEPTH FOR THE MONTH REACHED ITS
MAXIMUM DEPTH OF 8 INCHES. THIS SNOW COVER WAS COMPLETELY WIPED OUT
IN THE RAIN EVENT ON THE 11TH AND 12TH. SNOW COVER RETURNED ON THE
19TH WITH A MINOR SNOW EVENT, AND TWO MORE SMALL EVENTS ENSURED A
WHITE CHRISTMAS. THE SNOW DEPTH REACHED 4 INCHES BEFORE IT WAS WIPED
OUT IN THE WARMUP AND SMALLER RAIN EVENT ON THE 30TH AND 31ST. THIS
RESULTED IN JUST THE SECOND NEW YEAR'S EVE ON RECORD WITH NO SNOW ON
THE GROUND IN CARIBOU (1982 WAS THE OTHER ONE). 2001 AND 2003 BOTH
HAD JUST TRACES ON THE GROUND ON NEW YEAR'S EVE IN CARIBOU. THIS PUT
A SIGNIFICANT DAMPER ON WINTER RECREATION IN NORTHERN MAINE.
FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS INTO THE BANGOR REGION AND DOWNEAST, THE
LARGEST SNOWFALL CAME ON CHRISTMAS EVE. UP TO 12 INCHES FELL IN
SOUTHERN PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. AMOUNTS WERE GENERALLY 4 TO 10 INCHES
ACROSS PENOBSCOT, HANCOCK, AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES. THIS EVENT
ENSURED A WHITE CHRISTMAS FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. AMOUNTS WERE
LIGHTER FURTHER NORTH, WITH GENERALLY 1 TO 3 INCHES IN THE FAR
NORTH. THIS SNOW COVER WAS WIPED OUT IN THE WARMUP AND RAIN EVENT ON
THE 30TH AND 31ST, EXCEPT FOR A SMALL AMOUNT IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN.
THE CLIMATE PREDICITION CENTER'S (CPC) OUTLOOK FOR JANUARY 2025
CALLS FOR AN ELEVATED CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS
NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. THE OUTLOOK ALSO CALLS FOR AN INCREASED
CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE.
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM LOWS/HIGHS IF ARIYBD ZER0/20 DEGREES
F OVER THE FAR NORTH TO AROUND 10/AROUND 30 ALONG THE DOWNEAST
COAST. AVERAGE PRECIPITATION (RAIN AND MELTED SNOW EQUIVALENT) IS
AROUND 3.00 INCHES. AVERAGE MONTHLY SNOWFALL/SNOW DEPTH RANGES FROM
AROUND 15/5 INCHES ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST UPWARDS TO 30/15 INCHES
OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS.
$$
NC/CB
