May 2013 Climate Summary for northern and eastern Maine

NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE MONTHLY CLIMATE NARRATIVE:

MAY 2013 FEATURED ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IN MOST AREAS OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE.

TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM 1 TO 2.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE...AND WERE NEAR NORMAL TO ONE DEGREE BELOW NORMAL DOWNEAST. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 130-200 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS

MOST OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. THERE WAS A SMALL AREA IN SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT AND WESTERN HANCOCK COUNTIES WHERE PRECIPITATION WAS CLOSE TO NORMAL. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENT OCCURRED ON MAY 23RD THROUGH THE 26TH WHEN WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WERE OBSERVED ACROSS THE REGION WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 5 INCHES IN PARTS OF EASTERN AROOSTOOK AND COASTAL WASHINGTON COUNTIES. STANDING WATER WAS COMMON...AND MANY STREAMS AND CREEKS FLOWED OUT OF THEIR BANKS. THE HEAVY RAINS CAUSED THE PENOBSCOT RIVER TO FILL AND THERE WAS SOME LOWLAND FLOODING ALONG THE EAST BRANCH OF THE RIVER. NEARLY ALL RIVERS SAW A SIGNIFICANT RISE IN LATE MAY DUE TO THE HEAVY RAINFALL.

MAY 2013 GOT OFF TO A VERY WARM START AT CARIBOU. THERE WERE 4 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 80 DEGREES OR WARMER FROM THE 5TH THROUGH THE 8TH. THIS TIED WITH 1999 FOR THE MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 80 DEGREES OR WARMER SO EARLY IN THE YEAR. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED DURING THIS UNUSUALLY WARM STRETCH WAS 85 DEGREES ON THE 7TH...WHICH BROKE THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD HIGH OF 83 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET IN 1964. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A HIGH OF 83 DEGREES ON THE 8TH...WHICH TIED THE DAILY RECORD LAST SET IN 1982. ANOTHER DAILY RECORD LAST SET IN 1999 WAS TIED ON THE 31ST WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS 87 DEGREES.

THE FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY OF THE YEAR AT CARIBOU WAS OBSERVED ON THE 5TH...WHICH WAS IS MUCH EARLIER THAN THE AVERAGE DATE OF MAY 23RD. A TOTAL OF FIVE 80 DEGREE DAYS WERE OBSERVED THIS PAST MAY...WHICH IS ABOVE THE AVERAGE OF TWO. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE THIS PAST MAY OF 53.8 DEGREES WAS 2.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IT RANKED AS THE 9TH WARMEST MAY IN THE PAST 30 YEARS. TEMPERATURES IN MAY RANGED FROM A LOW OF 30 ON THE 14TH TO A HIGH OF 87 ON THE 31ST. THE LAST FREEZING TEMPERATURE WAS OBSERVED ON THE MORNING OF THE 19TH...WHICH WAS JUST 4 DAYS LATER THAN THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE LAST FREEZING TEMPERATURE IN THE SPRING.

A TOTAL OF 5.51 INCHES OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED AT CARIBOU WHICH WAS 2.18 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. IT WAS THE WETTEST MAY AT CARIBOU SINCE 1984...AND RANKED AS THE 4TH WETTEST MAY SINCE WEATHER RECORDS BEGAN IN 1939. A TOTAL OF 4.56 INCHES OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED AT BANGOR...WHICH WAS 92 HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH ABOVE NORMAL.

AT BANGOR...THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE IN MAY 2013 WAS 53.5 DEGREES...WHICH WAS JUST 2 TENTHS OF A DEGREE BELOW NORMAL. THE FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY WAS NOT OBSERVED UNTIL THE 30TH...AND THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE OF 89 DEGREES WAS NOT OBSERVED UNTIL THE AFTERNOON OF THE 31ST. THE TOTAL OF TWO 80 DEGREE DAYS WAS EXACTLY THE AVERAGE NUMBER OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM A LOW OF 31 DEGREES ON THE 5TH AND 15TH TO A HIGH OF 89 ON THE 31ST. THE LAST FREEZING TEMPERATURE WAS OBSERVED ON THE MORNING OF THE 15TH...WHICH WAS ABOUT A WEEK LATER THAN AVERAGE. NO NEW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE ESTABLISHED AT BANGOR THIS PAST MAY.

THUNDER WAS OBSERVED AT CARIBOU ON ONLY 1 DAY (THE 31ST). THUNDER IS ON AVERAGE OBSERVED ON 2 DAYS DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. THUNDER WAS NOT OBSERVED AT BANGOR DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. THUNDER IS TYPICALLY OBSERVED AT BANGOR ON 1 DAY DURING THE MONTH OF MAY.

THE OUTLOOK FOR JUNE FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICATION CENTER INDICATES THAT THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS THAT TILT THE ODDS IN FAVOR OF EITHER AN UNUSUALLY DRY OR WET JUNE OR A VERY WARM OR COOL JUNE. AT CARIBOU (BANGOR) THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE ON THE 1ST IS 68 (70) AND BY THE END OF THE MONTH RISES TO 75 (78). THE AVERAGE LOWS WARM FROM 45 TO 54 AT CARIBOU AND FROM 48 TO 56 AT BANGOR. AVERAGE PRECIPITATION IN THE MONTH OF JUNE IS 3.48 INCHES AT CARIBOU AND 3.76 INCHES AT BANGOR.