March 2025 Narrative for Northern and Eastern Maine

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

MARCH 2025 FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION FOR 
NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. 

TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM 2.5 TO 4.5 DEGREES (F) 
ABOVE THE 1991-2020 AVERAGES. PRECIPIATION (RAIN AND MELTED SNOW) 
WAS GENERALLY 130 TO 170 PERCENT OF NORMAL. SNOWFALL WAS NEAR 
AVERAGE ACROSS NORTHERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY AND BELOW AVERAGE FURTHER 
SOUTH. NONE OF THE CLIMATE SITES FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 FOR EXTREMES 
FOR TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, OR SNOWFALL.

THE HIGHEST IMPACT EVENT OF THE MONTH WAS A LONG-DURATION EVENT FROM 
THE 5TH TO THE 7TH. LIGHT SNOW IN THE NORTH ACCUMULATED 1 TO 2 
INCHES BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN. RAIN CONTINUED REGIONWIDE THROUGH 
THE 6TH. AROUND 1 INCH OF RAIN FELL IN MUCH OF AROOSTOOK COUNTY, 
WHILE OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN FELL IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. RAIN CHANGED 
TO SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE REGION ON THE 7TH. THE FALLING TEMPERATURES 
CAUSED STANDING WATER TO FREEZE AS SNOW FELL ON TOP OF IT. THIS 
RESULTED IN NUMEROUS ROAD CLOSURES IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY. THE 
SITUATION WAS COMPOUNDED BY WING GUSTS OVER 50 MPH AT TIMES, WHICH 
CAUSED BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW. TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF 
MILLINOCKET, 6 TO 11 INCHES OF SNOW FELL, MAKING THIS THE LARGEST 
SNOW EVENT OF MARCH 2025 THERE. 2 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM 
SOUTH TO NORTH FROM THE BANGOR REGION TO THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS. LESS 
THAN 2 INCHES FELL TOWARDS THE COAST.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AREAS SAW THEIR LARGEST SNOW EVENT OF THE MONTH 
ON THE 24TH. SNOW AMOUNTS WERE MOSTLY 4 TO 7 INCHES AWAY FROM THE 
COAST (WHERE AMOUNTS WERE 3 INCHES OR LESS). ACROSS THE NORTH, 
AMOUNTS WERE LOWER AS WELL, GENERALLY 1 TO 3 INCHES IN TOTAL.

AT THE START OF THE MONTH, SNOW COVER WAS BETWEEN 15 TO 30 INCHES 
ACROSS THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND THE NORTH, AND 10 TO 15 INCHES NEAR 
BANGOR AND DOWNEAST. SNOW WATER EQUIVALENTS WERE 2 TO 5 INCHES IN 
THE BANGOR AND DOWNEAST REGIONS, AND 5 TO 10 INCHES FOR THE CENTRAL 
HIGHLANDS AND NORTH. THE BANGOR REGION AND COASTAL DOWNEAST LOST 
ALL OF THEIR SNOWCOVER IN THE RAIN EVENT AND WARMUP ON THE 6TH AND 
7TH. A SIGNIFICANT WARMUP FROM THE 14TH TO THE 20TH RESULTED IN 
SIGNIFICANT SNOWMELT ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS.  THIS 
RESULTED IN ICE JAM FLOODING ALONG THE AROOSTOOK RIVER, CLOSING A 
FEW ROADS. THE WARMUP WAS ACCOMPANIED BY RAIN FROM THE 16TH THROUGH 
THE 18TH. 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN FELL FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 
SOUTHWARD, WITH DECREASING AMOUNTS FURTHER NORTH. THE RAIN ENDED 
WITH UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW IN NORTHERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY. HOWEVER, 
THE THAW AND SNOWMELT BROUGHT A HALT TO MOST WINTER RECREATION 
ACROSS THE NORTH.

BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THERE WAS NO SNOW ON THE GROUND NEAR BANGOR 
AND DOWNEAST. ANYWHERE FROM A TRACE TO 6 INCHES WERE ON THE GROUND 
FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS INTO EASTERN AROOSTOOK COUNTY. IN THE 
NORTH WOODS, 6 TO 18 INCHES WERE ON THE GROUND, WITH THE GREATEST 
AMOUNTS AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THERE WAS A TRACE TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW 
WATER EQUIVALENT IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS TO EASTERN AROOSTOOK 
COUNTY. HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN THE NORTH WOODS HAD 5 TO 7 INCHES OF 
SNOW-WATER EQUIVALENT BY THE END OF THE MONTH.

THE RAIN AND SNOWMELT HELPED IMPROVE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS 
NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE DURING MARCH 2025. AT THE START OF THE 
MONTH, THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR PLACED AREAS SOUTH AND EAST OF 
MILLINOCKET IN THE MODERATE DROUGHT (D1) CATEGORY. MOST OF THE REST 
OF THE REGION WAS IN THE ABNORMALLY DRY (D0) CATEGORY. THE 
EXCEPTIONS WERE THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY AND ALONG THE QUEBEC BORDER. 
BY THE END OF THE MONTH, D1 WAS CONFINED TO DEER ISLE AND OTHER 
OUTER ISLANDS IN HANCOCK COUNTY. THERE WAS D0 ALONG THE REMAINDER OF 
THE DOWNEAST COAST AND IN MUCH OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. THE REST OF 
THE AREA DID NOT HAVE DROUGHT CONTIIONS BY THE END OF THE MONTH.

IN TOTAL, CARIBOU SAW 6 DAYS IN MARCH 2025 WHERE THE HIGH 
TEMPERATURE WAS AT OR ABOVE 50 DEGREES. THE RECORD FOR THE MOST DAYS 
WITH A HIGH OF 50F OR GREATER IN CARIBOU IS 7 DAYS (1977, 2012, 
2021). RECORDS IN CARIBOU DATE BACK TO 1939. IN MILLINOCKET, THERE 
WERE 8 DAYS WITH A HIGH OF AT LEAST 50F, THE 8TH MOST ON RECORD. THE 
RECORD IN MILLINOCKET IS 15 DAYS (1946). RECORDS IN MILLINOCKET DATE 
BACK TO 1903. IN HOULTON, THERE WERE 7 SUCH DAYS, WHICH WAS THE 3RD 
MOST ON RECORD. THE GREATEST NUMBER OF DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 50F OR 
GREATER IN HOULTON IS 10 (2012, 2021). RECORDS IN HOULTON DATE BACK 
TO 1948.

THE CLIMATE PREDICITION CENTER'S (CPC) OUTLOOK FOR APRIL 2025 
INDICATES THAT THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FOR EITHER ABOVE 
OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. IN 
ADDITION, THE CPC'S OUTLOOK SHOWS NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FOR 
ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE PRECIPIATION (RAIN AND MELTED SNOW).

DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL, THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ACROSS NORTHERN 
AND EASTERN MAINE UNDERGO THE LARGEST RISE OF ANY MONTH OF THE YEAR. 
AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THE AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE UPPER 
30S IN THE FAR NORTH TO THE MID 40S ALONG THE COAST. BY THE END OF 
THE MONTH, AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE MID 50S NORTH TO NEAR 60F IN 
BANGOR. ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST, AVERAGE HIGHS REMAIN COO0LER, 
OWING TO THE COLD OCEAN WATER TEMPERATURES.

PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL AVERAGE BETWEEN 3 AND 
3.75 INCHES ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. SNOWFALL AVERAGES 
(1991-2020) FOR APRIL ARE 3.7 INCHES IN BANGOR AND 8.3 INCHES IN 
CARIBOU. THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR ON AVERAGE ABOUT ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS 
DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL

$$

NC/AB