THE BLIZZARD OF JAN. 29

A storm slammed into Maine starting in the early hours of Jan. 29 and intensified throughout the day, marking the first time since 2018 that the Gray-Portland National Weather Service Office issued a blizzard warning. Heavy snow and winds gusting between 40 and 60 miles per hour caused near-whiteout conditions at times, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s storm event database. The Portland Jetport measured a peak wind gust at 59 miles per hour – the highest it would see all year – and 13.2 inches of snow, which was also the greatest 24-hour total snowfall for the year. The Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport measured a peak wind gust of 48 miles per hour. By the evening hours, snowfall totals ranged from 8 inches near Livermore to 18 inches near Durham in Androscoggin County, 12 inches near Saddleback Mountain in Franklin County and 10 inches near Woodstock in Oxford County. The blizzard was followed by a cold front and Portland saw its coldest temperature of the year on Jan. 31: 7 degrees below zero.

RECORD-BREAKING HEAT AND DROUGHT

Although a couple more storms in early February dumped several inches of snow across parts of Maine and upward of a foot and a half in the foothills and mountains, winter ended with a whimper, not a bang.

The last of the winter snowpack melted earlier than usual on March 8, and a lackluster end to the winter season and below normal precipitation through the spring and summer led to drought conditions across most of the state by late summer, according to Dr. Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

While June was cooler than normal, any hopes those conditions would persist through the summer were dashed by July, when the daily maximum temperature regularly hit the 80s.

By early August, all but Aroostook County was affected by some level of drought, with most of central and western Maine experiencing moderate drought and parts of coastal Maine experiencing severe drought. And then, extreme heat hit. From Aug. 5 to 7, temperatures did not drop below 70 degrees in Portland, Gray and Augusta, according to the National Weather Service. And for three consecutive days starting on Aug. 7, the high temperature exceeded 90 degrees, making it the hottest stretch of the summer. Aug. 7 was also the hottest day of the year in Portland, with the maximum temperature reaching 96 degrees.

It was also humid. Very humid.

“We’re seeing the effects of the Bermuda High, which is a blocking feature over the western Atlantic Ocean, which, given the recent La Niña, has been missing from our recent summers,” Mike Haggett, who runs Pine Tree Weather, told the Sun Journal in early August.

“This allows for a prolonged period of juicy air, from the mildly tolerable to the insufferable levels of humidity,” he said.

Although August ended with above normal precipitation, it wasn’t enough to end drought conditions. There were more than 50 wildfires reported and by Aug. 29, 83 private wells had run dry, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

OCT. 14 STORM BRINGS HEAVY RAIN, HIGH WIND

Blowing into Maine overnight on Oct. 13, a southeaster storm brought high winds and much-needed rain to the region.

Wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour downed trees and power lines and caused more than 100,000 Central Maine Power customers to lose power by the evening of Oct. 14. The storm also dumped record rainfall throughout the state, with Portland and Gray both receiving the greatest 24-hour total precipitation for the year, at 3.27 inches of rain and 3.38 inches, respectively.

The rains also caused flash floods in some areas: The National Weather Service reported that the Ellis River near Andover and the Swift River near Byron, both in Oxford County, overflowed, causing road closures and hindering access to those areas.

But the heavy rains and other seasonal precipitation did their job: By late October, Maine was free of any drought and dryness, according to climatologist Jessica Spaccio from the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

A VERY WARM START TO NOVEMBER

Bates College senior Ruby Cramer does homework on the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2022, in the quad on the Lewiston campus. She and many other students took advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures to relax, study and play. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The first 12 days of November were marked by “exceptional warmth,” according to the Gray-Portland National Weather Service Office. During this unseasonably warm stretch, the daily maximum temperature went above 70 degrees three times in Portland and five times in Gray.

The temperature hit 75 degrees in Portland and 76 degrees in Augusta on Nov. 5. Those temperatures set the new all-time record high temperature for the day and for the month of November for both cities. The previous record of 74 degrees was set in Portland in 2020 and in 1990 in Augusta.

The next day in Portland, the low temperature did not drop below 59 degrees, breaking the all-time record warm low temperature for the day and for the month of November that was set in 1982.

DECEMBER’S WINDY NOR’EASTER

A powerful Nor’easter slammed into Maine on Dec. 22-23, packing heavy rains and strong winds. Maine’s coastal communities were hit particularly hard: Portland recorded its highest wind gust of the year on Dec. 23 at 65 miles per hour and a period of high astronomical tides led the city to experience its 4th highest tide on record at 13.72 feet. Several coastal communities experienced damaging flooding.

By 9 p.m. on Dec. 23, a Friday, nearly a third of all Central Maine Power customers and 51,000 customers of Versant Power, which serves northern and eastern Maine, were without power. Crews from Canada and as far away as Georgia worked hard to restore power before a cold front that moved into Maine Friday evening plunged temperatures into the low 20s and teens by the next morning.

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