Winter warmer than ever
Spring starts with snow
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — While the idiom states that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, many would concede that record-breaking winter temperatures in Aroostook County should join that notoriously coupled pair.
The winter of 2009-10, consistent with the past few years, has also found its place in climatological history, but for extreme warm temperatures atypical of an Aroostook winter.
While 63 percent of the country experienced below normal temperatures, meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Caribou have announced that this winter was the warmest in the history of recorded temperatures that date back to 1939. The highest temperature recorded between Dec. 21 and March 22 was 57 degrees set on March 16, while the coldest was -17 degrees set on February 3.
There were four records set at the Caribou NWS office: with an average daily temperature of 23.8 degrees, this winter exceeded the previous warmest average winter daily temperature of 20.8 degrees set during the winter of 1957-58; a record breaking 31.1 degrees set the new warmest average maximum daily winter temperature, surpassing the previous record of 28 degrees also set during the winter of 1957-58; the new record of 16.6 degrees as the warmest average minimum daily winter temperature beat out the previous record of 13.6 degrees set, again, during the winter of 1957-58.
While this was a winter of highs, the winter of 2009-10 did set the record for the least amount of accumulated heating degree days (as of March 21) with 6,713; the previous lead accumulated heating degree days were the winter of 2001-02 with 6,804.
The crown of Maine also experienced one of the least snowiest seasons on record; the NWS Caribou meteorologists recorded 64.2 inches of snow between November and March, though Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS Caribou office Mike Cantin advised that a couple of heavy April snow showers could propel that number up toward normal measurements.
As of March 16, the Allagash had a snow pack depth between 18 and 24 inches, while depth in the St. John Valley ranged between 12 and 18 inches. The rest of The County had less than 10 inches of snow and last week, Caribou measured 0 inches of snow.
Even though the small snow packs seem to be almost pitifully wasting away, Cantin cautioned that standard flooding precautions should still be followed.
“Even with the low temperatures and sunshine, there still is a significant amount of ice in the St. John Valley and the Allagash,” he said.
As of Monday afternoon, Cantin and the meteorologists at the Caribou NWS office were expecting normal spring conditions, but they caution that individuals should still stay vigilant as there is still plenty of snow out there to melt and potentially cause problems — 7 to 8 inches of liquid water content in the snow, to be specific.
“If we warm up quickly, there’s enough ice on the rivers to potentially cause a jam,” Cantin said.
Though Tuesday’s snowfall may have temporarily dashed a few dreams of open-toed shoes and barbeques, cold snaps are expected to be short-lived during what has been projected to be a normal spring.
While winter sports enthusiasts may rue the same warm winter that had many excited about leaving their down parkas in the closet, high temperatures such as this winter’s are not even suggested to repeat next winter.
“The way the temperatures shaped up this year was exceptional and not normal,” Cantin explained, “chances for duplication are slim.”
The comfortable winter in northern Maine is attributed to a moderate to strong El Niño, and chances of it being this strong again next year are low.
