April 2015 Climate Narrative for northern and eastern Maine

...Northern and eastern Maine monthly area climate narrative...

April 2015 featured below normal temperatures and below normal

liquid precipitation. Temperatures averaged 1 to 3 degrees below

normal. Snowfall was close to normal in most of northern and eastern

Maine.

At Caribou, the average temperature of 36.6 degrees was 2 degrees

below the 1981-2010 normals. It was the coolest April since 2007. It

was also the 4th month in a row with below average temperatures.

There were a total of 18 nights when the low temperature dropped to

freezing or lower, which compares to an average of 20.

At Bangor, the  average temperature of 40.7 degrees was 1.8 degrees

below normal.  It was also the coolest April at Bangor since 2007.

There were a total of 16 nights when the low temperature dropped to

freezing or lower, which compares to an average of 14.

A total of 2.35 inches of precipitation (rain and melted snow) was

observed at Caribou, which  was 31 hundredths (0.31") of an inch

below normal.  A total of 8.6 inches of snow as observed, which  was

1.2 inches above normal.  At Bangor, a total of 2.39 inches of

precipitation was observed, which  was 1.23 inches below normal.  A

total of 6.3 inches of snow was observed, which  was 2.6 inches

above normal.  It was the snowiest April at Bangor since 2011.

The month began on a cold note across all of northern and eastern

Maine with below to well below normal temperatures during the first

10 days of the month.  The low temperature at Caribou of 4 below on

the morning of the 6th was an all-time record low for the entire

month of April, surpassing the previous record low of 2 below on

April 2, 1964.  The low temperature of 20 below at Big Black River

may have unofficially been an all-time record low for the state of

Maine for the month of April.

At the start of the month the snowpack was still around a foot from

Caribou north through the Saint John Valley, and from 1 to 2 feet across

most of central and Downeast Maine, with locally higher amounts in

Parts of Washington county.  By the end of the month, most  of the

snow had melted away. There were still some spots in the North Maine

Woods and and across Washington County that had several inches of

snow in shaded wooded areas.

April featured below normal liquid precipitation across most of

northern and eastern Maine that ranged from 60 to 90 percent of

normal.  There was a small area across eastern Washington County

where precipitation was slightly above normal. Snowfall was near to

slightly above normal in most areas.

The outlook from the Climate Predication Center

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/ for May indicates an increased

likelihood of above normal temperatures. There are no strong climate

signals that would point toward an unusually wet or dry month.

Average temperatures rise rapidly in May with the increasing sun

angle and day length. The average high at Caribou rises from 56F on

The 1st to 68F on the 31st. The average low temperature rises from

36F on the 1st to 45F by months end.  At Bangor, the  average high

climbs from 60F at the start of the month to 70F on the 31st. The

average low rises from 38F at the start of the month to 47F by

months end. The amount of available daylight increases over an hour

during the course of the month.