Surprise, surprise: 2022 was another hot one

2022 was hot one for Maine.

The average temperature in Portland last year was 48.2 degrees, according to the Gray-Portland National Weather Service Office, making it the 8th warmest year on record since 1941.

It was still 1.7 degrees cooler than the average temperature in 2020, hottest year on record for Portland.

Temperatures in Portland broke 29 daily records in 2022, all of them for warm temperatures. No cold records were broken. Two days in November – Nov. 5 and 6 – also broke all-time records for the entire month of November: a record high temperature on Nov. 5 and record warm low temperature on Nov. 6.

Last year was also marked by significant deficits in rain and snowfall. It was the 7th least snowy year on record since 1882, with Portland receiving only 36.6 inches of snow, which is 32.1 inches below the 30-year annual average.

A mild end to the winter led to the last of the winter snowpack melting by March 8, and a mostly dry spring and early summer led to drought conditions developing for the third year in a row across Maine. But thanks to four months of above-normal rains starting in August, all signs of drought disappeared by late October. Portland ended the year with 46.66 inches of total precipitation, which was 1.46 inches below normal.

The following reflect measurements taken at the Gray-Portland National Weather Service Office, Portland Jetport station, in 2022:

Average temperature: 48.2 (0.7 degrees above normal)
Average maximum temperature: 57.6 (1.2 degrees above normal)
Average minimum temperature: 38.8 (0.2 degrees above normal)
Days with maximum temperature at or above 90 degrees: 7 (1.9 days above normal)
Days with minimum temperature at or below 0 degrees: 7 (0.3 days above normal)
High temperature: 96 on Aug. 7
Low temperature: -7 on Jan. 31
Total precipitation: 46.66 inches (1.46 inches below normal)
Greatest rainfall in 24 hours: 3.27 inches on Oct. 13-14
Total snowfall: 36.6 inches (32.1 inches below normal)
Greatest snowfall in 24 hours: 13.2 inches on Jan. 29
Greatest snow depth: 11 inches on Jan. 30
First frost: Oct. 9
Last frost: May 9

2022 RECORD BREAKERS

The following records were broken or tied in Portland in 2022, based on temperature records dating back to 1941, precipitation records dating back to 1971, and snowfall records dating back to 1882, for the specific month/day noted:

Jan. 29: Record daily snowfall – 13.2 inches
Feb. 4: Greatest precipitation – 1.59 inches
Feb. 12: Warmest high temperature – 54
Feb. 12: Warmest average temperature – 44
Feb. 17: Warmest low temperature – 42
Feb. 23: Warmest high temperature – 66
Feb. 23: Warmest average temperature – 46 (tied with 1990)
March 6: Warmest average temperature – 48
March 7: Warmest low temperature – 37 (tied with 2009)
April 8: Greatest precipitation – 2.11 inches
May 14: Warmest high temperature – 84
May 14: Warmest average temperature – 71
May 14: Warmest low temperature – 58
May 17: Warmest low temperature – 54 (tied with 1977)
Aug. 7: Warmest high temperature – 96
Aug. 7: Warmest low temperature – 74
Aug. 8: Warmest high temperature – 95 (tied with 1949)
Aug. 19: Warmest high temperature – 90 (tied with 1947, 2009)
Aug. 22: Greatest precipitation – 2.19 inches
Aug. 24: Warmest low temperature – 66 (tied with 2020)
Aug. 30: Warmest low temperature – 68 (tied with 2005)
Oct. 14: Greatest precipitation – 2.79 inches
Oct. 18: Greatest precipitation – 1.49 inches
Oct. 26: Warmest low temperature – 57
Nov. 5: Warmest high temperature and all-time record high for the month of November – 75
Nov. 5: Warmest average temperature – 65
Nov. 5: Warmest low temperature – 55 (tied with 1961)
Nov. 6: Warmest average temperature – 64
Nov. 6: Warmest low temperature and all-time record warm low for the month of November – 59
Nov. 11: Warmest high temperature – 69 (tied with 2020)
Nov. 11: Warmest average temperature – 61 (tied with 2020)
Nov. 12: Warmest high temperature – 73
Nov. 12: Warmest average temperature – 63
Nov. 12: Warmest low temperature – 52
Dec. 7: Warmest low temperature – 46

Information was obtained from the Annual Climatological Report for Portland issued by the Gray-Portland National Weather Service Office; Sean Birkel, assistant Extension professor and Maine state climatologist at the Climate Change Institute, Cooperative Extension, University of Maine, Orono; Climatologist Jessica Spaccio, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; and the storm event database from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information.