February 2018 Climate Review for Northern and Eastern Maine

...NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE FEBRUARY CLIMATE NARRATIVE...

TEMPERATURES WERE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE THIS PAST FEBRUARY AND RANGED
FROM 3.5 TO 5.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE 30-YEAR (1981-2010) AVERAGES. IT
WAS THE 7TH WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON, 
THE 10TH WARMEST AT BANGOR, AND THE 12TH WARMEST ON RECORD AT 
MILLINOCKET. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH FEATURED SHORT SPELLS OF 
ABOVE AND BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, WITH MORE PERSISTENT AND 
SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES DURING THE LAST 2 WEEKS 
OF THE MONTH. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS ESTABLISHED ON THE 
22ND AT CARIBOU WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE BRIEFLY SOARED TO 51 
DEGREES EARLY IN THE EVENING. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 
50 SET IN 1994.

PRECIPITATION WAS NEAR AVERAGE ACROSS THE REGION AND RANGED FROM
80 TO 120 PERCENT OF NORMAL. SNOWFALL WAS NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE
AVERAGE WITH 25.3 INCHES OBSERVED AT CARIBOU, WHICH WAS 3.1 
INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. AT BANGOR, 18.2 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED,
WHICH WAS 3.5 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. 

THE SNOW PACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH RANGED FROM 25 TO 35 INCHES
ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE FROM HOULTON NORTH TO THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY,
WITH 18 TO 26 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND ACROSS THE CENTRAL 
HIGHLANDS. THE INTERIOR DOWNEAST REGION INCLUDING BANGOR HAD 2 TO 
6 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND, WITH AN INCH OR LESS FOR MOST 
COASTAL COMMUNITIES. 

AT CARIBOU, THE MONTH BEGAN WITH 27 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND
AND ENDED WITH 29. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH OF 36 INCHES WAS
OBSERVED ON THE MORNING OF THE 11TH. AT BANGOR, THE MONTH BEGAN
WITH 3 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND AND ENDED WITH ONLY A TRACE 
BEING OBSERVED. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH OF 12 INCHES WAS OBSERVED 
ON THE MORNING OF THE 11TH. 

THE OUTLOOK FOR MARCH FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CALLS FOR
AN INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, AND AN
INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.  

AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURES AT CARIBOU RISE FROM THE UPPER 20S AT
THE START OF THE MONTH TO 40 DEGREES BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
AVERAGE LOWS RISE FROM 9 TO 22 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE MONTHLY
SNOWFALL IS 18.3 INCHES. AT BANGOR, THE AVERAGE HIGH RISES FROM 
35 TO 46 WHILE THE AVERAGE LOWS RISE FROM 15 TO 27 DEGREES. ON
AVERAGE, THERE IS 11.7 INCHES OF SNOW DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH.
THERE IS AN INCREASE OF 1 HOUR AND 41 MINUTES OF DAYLIGHT AT
CARIBOU DURING THE MONTH. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS ON SUNDAY,
MARCH 11TH.