December 2024 Climate Narrative for Northern and Eastern Maine

...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.

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