August 2025 Climate Summary for Northern and Eastern Maine

...AUGUST 2025 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE...

AUGUST 2025 FEATURED NORMAL TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES 

AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. 

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM NORMAL TO 1.0 DEGREES (F) 

BELOW THE 1991-2020 AVERAGES. IN CARIBOU, THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 

64.2 DEGREES WAS 0.7 DEGREES BELOW THE 1991-2020 AVERAGE FOR AUGUST. 

NO MAJOR CLIMATE SITE FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 COOLEST FOR THE MONTH 

OF AUGUST. 

DESPITE THE NEGATIVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES, ALL FOUR MAJOR 

CLIMATE SITES HAD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AVERAGE OUT ABOVE NORMAL FOR 

AUGUST. MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AVERAGED 1.0 TO 3.0 DEGREES ABOVE 

THE 1991-2020 NORMALS ACROSS THE AREA. THIS WAS MOSTLY DRIVEN BY 

A HEATWAVE THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN THE 10TH AND 13TH. IN CARIBOU, 

THERE WERE FOUR CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 90 

DEGREES OR HIGHER. THIS TIED FOR THE LONGEST SUCH STRETCH ON RECORD. 

THE OTHER STRETCHES WERE AUGUST 28TH-SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2010, JULY 25TH-

JULY 28TH 1969, AND JUNE 15TH-JUNE 18TH, 1949. IN ADDITION, THE 10TH 

THROUGH THE 13TH WAS THE WARMEST FOUR-DAY STRETCH ON RECORD FOR 

CARIBOU WHEN AVERAGING BOTH HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES (79.0 

DEGREES). THE PREVIOUS RECORD STRETCH WAS JULY 26TH-JULY 29TH, 1963 

(78.9 DEGREES). RECORDS IN CARIBOU DATE BACK TO 1939. MULTIPLE DAILY 

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE SET AT CARIBOU, MILLINOCKET, AND 

HOULTON DURING THE HEATWAVE. NO DAILY RECORDS WERE SET IN BANGOR DUE 

TO RECORD HIGHS BEING HIGHER THERE FOR THE RESPECTIVE DAYS.

OUTSIDE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED HEAT WAVE, AUGUST 2025 FEATURED 

NUMEROUS UNSEASONABLY COOL NIGHTS ACROSS THE REGION. MINIMUM 

TEMPERATURES AVERAGED 2.0 TO 3.5 DEGREES BELOW THE 1991-2020 NORMALS 

ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. IN HOULTON, THE AVERAGE 

MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 49.0 DEGREES, 3.1 DEGREES 

BELOW NORMAL. THIS WAS THE 9TH COOLEST AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE FOR 

THE MONTH OF AUGUST ON RECORD IN HOULTON. RECORDS IN HOULTON 

DATE BACK TO 1948. IN BANGOR, THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST 

WAS 53.5 DEGREES, WHICH WAS 3.5 DEGREES BELOW THE 1991-2020 NORMAL. 

THIS WAS THE 14TH COOLEST AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR AUGUST ON 

RECORD IN BANGOR, AND THE COOLEST SINCE 2006 (53.2 DEGREES). RECORDS 

IN BANGOR DATE BACK TO 1925. NEITHER CARIBOU NOR MILLINOCKET 

FINISHED IN THE TOP 20 FOR COOLEST AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE FOR 

AUGUST.

THERE WERE 20 DAYS WITH A LOW TEMPERATURE BELOW 50 DEGREES IN 

HOULTON DURING THE MONTH. THIS WAS ONE DAY SHY OF THE RECORD OF 21, 

SET IN 1968. IN MILLINOCKET, THERE WERE 14 DAYS WHERE THE LOW 

TEMPERATURE DROPPED BELOW 50 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE 6TH MOST ON 

RECORD, AND THE LARGEST NUMBER SINCE 1964 (17 DAYS). THE LARGEST 

NUMBER OF DAYS WITH LOWS BELOW 50 DEGREES IN MILLINOCKET IN AUGUST 

OCCURRED IN 1903 (20 DAYS). RECORDS IN MILLINOCKET DATE BACK TO 

1903.

THE COOLEST MORNING OF THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE 19TH. CARIBOU AND 

HOULTON SAW LOW TEMPERATURES OF 38 AND 35 DEGREES, RESPECTIVELY. 

THIS TIED WITH 2005 AS THE SECOND EARLIEST LOW TEMPERATURE (AFTER 

AUGUST 1ST) OF 38 DEGREES OR LOWER ON RECORD. THE EARLIEST SUCH LOW 

TEMPERATURE OCCURRED ON AUGUST 13TH, 1941 (36 DEGREES). IT WAS ALSO 

THE SECOND EARLIEST (TIED WITH 2005) LOW OF 35 DEGREES OR LOWER IN 

HOULTON ON RECORD. IT WAS JUST TWO DAYS LATER THAN THE RECORD FROM 

AUGUST 17TH, 1979 (35 DEGREES). NUMEROUS LOCATIONS IN NORTHERN MAINE 

SAW EARLY SEASON FROST ON THE 19TH. A WEATHER STATION IN ESTCOURT 

STATION RECORDED A LOW OF 31 DEGREES THAT MORNING.

RAINFALL WAS GENERALLY 40 TO 60 PERCENT OF NORMAL FROM SOUTHEASTERN 

AROOSTOOK COUNTY SOUTHWARD TO DOWNEAST MAINE AND NEAR BANGOR. THIS 

LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE DROUGHT (D2) CONDITIONS FOR COASTAL 

DOWNEAST DURING AUGUST. MODERATE (D1) DROUGHT CONDITIONS DEVELOPED 

IN THE PISCATAQUIS AND PENOBSCOT VALLEYS EASTWARD INTO INTERIOR 

DOWNEAST AND FAR SOUTHEASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY. MOST PLACES SAW 

LITTLE OR NO RAIN DURING THE FIRST HALF OF AUGUST. MODEST RAINFALL 

LATER IN THE MONTH WAS NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR THE EARLIER DRY 

SPELL. AREAS FROM THE KATAHDIN REGION NORTHWARD SAW MORE RAINFALL 

DURING AUGUST, GENERALLY 80 TO 90 PERCENT OF NORMAL. RAINFALL 

EVENTS ON THE 23RD-25TH AND 29TH-30TH DROPPED OVER 1.00 INCH OF 

RAINFALL IN PARTS OF THESE AREAS. HOWEVER, ABNORMALLY DRY 

(D0) CONDITIONS STILL DEVELOPED FOR MOST PLACES FROM KATAHDIN 

NORTHWARD. THE EXCEPTIONS WERE THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY AND THE NORTH 

WOODS TOWARD THE QUEBEC BORDER. EVAPORATION IN CARIBOU Totaled 5.08 

INCHES FOR THE MONTH. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, SOIL MOISTURE 

Anomalies WERE BELOW THE 10TH PERCENTILE IN THE BANGOR REGION AND 

DOWNEAST. NORTHERN MAINE HAD SOIL MOISTURE BETWEEN THE 10TH AND 30TH 

PERCENTILE AT THE END OF AUGUST.

FOUR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE ISSUED IN THE MONTH OF 

AUGUST. THREE OF THOSE WERE ISSUED ON THE 14TH IN DOWNEAST MAINE. 

TREE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED ALONG THE ROUTE 1 CORRIDOR NEAR PRINCETON 

AND CALAIS. THE OTHER WARNING WAS ISSUED ON THE 13TH IN THE SAINT 

JOHN VALLEY, WHERE TREE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER 2025 

INDICATES THAT THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FAVORING ABOVE 

OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. THE 

CPC OUTLOOK ALSO DOES NOT SHOW ANY STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FAVORING 

ABOVE OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE 

IN THE LOW TO MID 70S AT THE START OF THE MONTH, DROPPING TO THE 

LOWER TO MID 60S BY THE END OF THE MONTH. AVERAGE LOWS DROP FROM THE 

LOWER 50S EARLY IN THE MONTH TO THE LOWER 40S BY THE END OF THE 

MONTH. FROST INCREASINGLY BECOMES A THREAT IN SEPTEMBER, ESPECIALLY 

IN NORTHERN VALLEYS DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH. ALTHOUGH 

VERY RARE, SNOW HAS BEEN OBSERVED ACROSS FAR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF 

THE REGION LATE IN THE MONTH. ON SEPTEMBER 29TH, 1991, CARIBOU 

RECORDED 2.9 INCHES OF SNOW, WHICH IS THE EARLIEST MEASURABLE 

SNOWFALL ON RECORD THERE. SEPTEMBER IS THE MONTH WHERE A TROPICAL 

SYSTEM OR THE REMNANTS OF A TROPICAL SYSTEM IS MOST LIKELY TO AFFECT 

THE AREA.

$$

NC

Summer 2025 Climate Summary For Northern And Eastern Maine

 ...NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE SUMMER 2025 CLIMATE NARRATIVE...

THE METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER (JUNE - AUGUST) SEASON WRAPPED UP WITH 

SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, AND SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW AVERAGE 

PRECIPITATION, PREDOMINANTLY AT BANGOR, MILLINOCKET, AND HOULTON. 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES MOSTLY AROUND NORMAL, WITH A SLIGHT WARM 

ANOMALY. CARIBOU WAS 0.3F ABOVE NORMAL, WITH A SEASONAL AVERAGE 

TEMPERATURE OF 64.6F. BANGOR WAS 0.2F ABOVE NORMAL AT 67.3F. 

MILLINOCKET WAS THE WARMEST STATION, 0.9F ABOVE NORMAL, AT 66.7F. 

LASTLY, HOULTON WAS ABOUT 0.6F ABOVE AVERAGE, WITH A SEASONAL 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 64.2F. 

THIS SUMMER SEASON HAD SOME ABOVE AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES WITH 

SOME HOT SPELLS THAT OCCURRED THROUGHOUT THE STATE. ONE SUCH HOT DAY 

WAS JUNE 24TH. BANGOR SAW A HIGH OF 98F THAT DAY, WHICH TIED THE 

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE. THE RECORD WAS 

PREVIOUSLY SET ON JUNE 27TH, 1941. IN ADDITION, IT WAS THE HOTTEST 

DAY IN BANGOR SINCE JULY 14TH, 1995 (99F). RECORDS IN BANGOR DATE 

BACK TO 1925. HOULTON SAW A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 92F, WHICH SET A NEW 

DAILY RECORD. HIGH TEMPERATURES FELL SHORT OF RECORDS IN MILLINOCKET 

AND CARIBOU ON JUNE 24TH. 

ANOTHER HOT STRETCH OCCURRED AUGUST 10TH-13TH, WHERE CARIBOU WAS 

ABOVE 90F FOR FOUR CONSECUTIVE DAYS. THIS TIED THE RECORD FOR 

LONGEST STREAK OF DAYS AT OR ABOVE 90F IN CARIBOU. ADDITIONALLY, IT 

WAS THE WARMEST FOUR-DAY STRETCH ON RECORD FOR CARIBOU WHEN 

AVERAGING BOTH HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES (79.0F). THE PREVIOUS 

WARMEST STRETCH WAS JULY 26TH-29TH, 1963 (78.9F). RECORDS IN CARIBOU 

DATE BACK TO 1939.

IN TERMS OF SEVERE WEATHER ACTIVITY, THERE WERE OVERALL ABOUT 40 

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS ISSUED, 3 FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ISSUED, 

AND 6 TORNADO WARNINGS ISSUED. ON JUNE 5TH, MULTIPLE THUNDERSTORMS 

ROLLED THROUGH NORTHERN MAINE, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS TREES DOWN, 

COVERING VARIOUS ROADS THROUGHOUT THE NORTH. FLASH FLOODING ON JULY 

3RD RESULTED IN DAMAGED AND ERODED TREES, WITH INDICATIONS OF WATER 

MOVEMENT OVER ROADS IN PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. FLASH FLOODING ON JULY 

17TH CAUSED SIGNIFICANT FLOOD DAMAGE IN NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY, 

WITH MULTIPLE CULVERTS AND DITCHES DESTROYED. ON THIS SAME DAY, 6 

TORNADO WARNINGS WERE ISSUED BASED ON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH 

ROTATION SIGNATURES. NONE OF THESE TORNADOES WERE OFFICIALLY 

VERIFIED, HOWEVER. HURRICANE ERIN DID MOVE TO OUR SOUTHWEST IN THE 

ATLANTIC OCEAN, MAINLY CAUSING SOME HIGH SURF ADVISORIES ALONG OUR 

COASTLINES. 

A BIG STORY FOR THE SUMMER SEASON WAS THE SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW 

AVERAGE RAINFALL. THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER SEASON, CARIBOU GOT THE MOST 

RAIN  OUT OF OUR STATIONS, RECEIVING 10.24 INCHES OF RAIN, WHICH IS 

ABOUT 1.49 INCHES BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL. BANGOR ONLY RECEIVED 

5.44 INCHES OF RAIN THIS SUMMER, RESULTING IN A 4.65 DEFICIT FROM 

CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMAL.  MILLINOCKET RECEIVED 7.64 INCHES OF RAIN, 

WHICH IS 4.52 INCHES OF RAIN BELOW NORMAL. LASTLY, HOULTON GOT 8.57 

INCHES OF RAIN THIS SUMMER, WHICH IS A 2.62 INCH DEFICIT FROM 

NORMAL. STARTING IN JUNE, NORTHERN MAINE WAS NOT IN DROUGHT. AS OF 

THE END OF AUGUST, THIS IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE 3RD DRIEST SUMMER FOR 

BANGOR, BEHIND 1949 AND 1957. COASTAL MAINE FINISHED SUMMER 2025 IN 

A D2 SEVERE DROUGHT. MEANWHILE, DOWNEAST AND CENTRAL MAINE IN A D1 

MODERATE DROUGHT, AND NORTHEASTERN MAINE IN D0 ABNORMALLY DRY. THE 

NORTH WOODS REGION IN NORTHWESTERN AROOSTOOK WAS THE ONLY DROUGHT-

FREE REGION AT SUMMER’S END. 

FOR THE NEXT SEASONAL OUTLOOK GIVEN BY THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER 

(CPC), LOOKING AT AN ELEVATED RISK OF ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR 

METEOROLOGICAL FALL (SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER). THERE IS NOT A 

STRONG SIGNAL FOR ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR THIS TIME 

FRAME, HOWEVER. TYPICAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN THE CARIBOU AREA ARE 

IN THE 50S IN SEPTEMBER, 40S IN OCTOBER, AND 30S IN NOVEMBER. FROST 

DOES START TO BECOME A CONCERN BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER, AS OVERNIGHT 

LOWS BEGIN TO CREEP DOWN TO BELOW FREEZING. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO 

BEGIN TO FALL IN METEOROLOGICAL FALL. NORMAL AMOUNTS OF SNOW IN THE 

CARIBOU AREA BEGINS IN OCTOBER, WITH TYPICALLY ONLY 1-2 INCHES 

FALLING, AND NOVEMBER TYPICALLY SEEING UP TO 10 INCHES BAKED ON 

CLIMATE NORMALS.

$$

ASB/NC

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