January 2019 Climate Review and Record Snowfall at Caribou

...NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE JANUARY 2019 MONTHLY CLIMATE NARRATIVE...

TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH AS A WHOLE DID NOT AVERAGE FAR FROM
THE 30-YEAR AVERAGE (1981-2010), RANGING FROM AROUND 1 DEGREE
BELOW AVERAGE TO 2 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE WITH VARIABILITY BETWEEN
CLIMATE SITES AND NO DISTINCTIVE  TREND FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
ACROSS THE REGION. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS -0.7
DEGREES (F) BELOW AVERAGE AT MILLINOCKET AND +1.5 DEGREES ABOVE
AVERAGE AT BANGOR.

AT CARIBOU, 59.8 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED. THIS SMASHED THE
PREVIOUS RECORD FOR JANUARY OF 44.5 INCHES IN 1994. NOT ONLY DID
IT BREAK THE JANUARY RECORD, IT ALMOST BROKE THE ALL-TIME
SNOWIEST MONTH ON RECORD OF DECEMBER 1972 WHEN 59.9 INCHES OF SNOW
WAS OBSERVED. A TOTAL OF 5.64 INCHES OF RAIN AND MELTED SNOW WAS
OBSERVED, WHICH WAS THE MOST ON RECORD BREAKING THE PREVIOUS
RECORD OF 5.60 INCHES IN 1995.

AT BANGOR, A TOTAL OF 20.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED THIS PAST
JANUARY, WHICH WAS JUST 1.3 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. A TOTAL OF 5.15
INCHES OF RAIN (AND MELTED SNOW) WAS OBSERVED, WHICH WAS MORE
THAN 2 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE, AND IT RANKED AS THE 10TH WETTEST
JANUARY ON RECORD AT BANGOR. ACROSS THE REGION AS A WHOLE,
PRECIPITATION IN MOST AREAS RANGED FROM 150 TO 200 PERCENT OF
NORMAL, BUT THERE WERE SOME AREAS IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN HANCOCK
COUNTY AND CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY WHERE
PRECIPITATION WAS ONLY 75 TO 110 PERCENT OF NORMAL.

THE MOST NOTEWORTHY EVENT OF THE MONTH WAS A MAJOR WINTER STORM ON
THE 20TH THAT PRODUCED FROM 1 TO 2 FEET OF SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN
AREAS AND FROM 6 INCHES TO A FOOT OF SNOW DOWN EAST. THE STORM
PRODUCED A TOTAL OF 18.2 INCHES AT CARIBOU, HOWEVER, THE 16.9
INCHES THAT WAS OBSERVED ON THE 20TH WAS THE GREATEST CALENDAR DAY
SNOWFALL AT CARIBOU SINCE 2005. IN THE WAKE OF THE STORM, THERE
WAS SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ACROSS CENTRAL AND
NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION WITH SNOW DRIFTS SEVERAL FEET
DEEP ACROSS EVEN PORTIONS OF U.S. ROUTE 1 IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 6 INCHES TO
A FOOT ACROSS THE FAR NORTH WITH 2 INCHES OR LESS DOWN EAST. BY
THE END OF JANUARY THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 2 TO 4 FEET ACROSS
NORTHERN AREAS. AMOUNTS DROPPED OFF RAPIDLY TO THE SOUTH OF
MILLINOCKET WITH 4 INCHES AT BANGOR AND GENERALLY 2 TO 6 INCHES
FOR MOST AREAS DOWN EAST AND ALONG THE COAST.

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S OUTLOOK FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN
MAINE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY INDICATES NO STRONG CLIMATE
SIGNALS THAT WOULD POINT TOWARD AN UNUSUALLY COLD OR MILD MONTH.
ODDS ARE SLIGHTLY TILTED TOWARD ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION.