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was a nine day period of very warm weather that began on August 11^th. During the period, Caribou experienced eight consecutive days of 80+ degrees and Bangor experienced seven 90+ days (five in a row from August 11th-15th). Record highs during this period include 95 deg F at Bangor on August 13^th and 91 degrees at Caribou on August 15^th . After this warm spell, at or below normal temperatures returned to the region, culminating in a record low temperature of 34 degrees at Caribou (and frost in low lying areas over far northern Maine) on the morning of August 31^st. Despite cooler temperatures during the last 10 days of the month, August still averaged 1.6 deg F above average at Caribou and 2.5 deg F above average on Bangor.

Rainfall last summer was about as extreme as temperature. After near normal rainfall of 3.20 inches at Caribou and 3.56 inches at Bangor, July featured much above normal rainfall across the north as indicated by the 5.86 inch total at Caribou (1.97 inches above average) and below normal rainfall across the south as shown by the 2.24 inch total at Bangor (1.00 inch below average). Then rainfall became really scanty across all of the region during August with the monthly totals of 0.55 inches (3.60 inches below average) at Caribou and 0.69 inches (2.30 inches below average) at Bangor, both constituting records for the driest August on record. By the end of August, most non-irrigated grassy areas across northern and eastern Maine turned brown.

The last significant highlight of the summer was the brief heat of September 8^th and 9^th . Records during this period included 92 degrees at Bangor on the 7^th ,  88 deg F at Houlton and 97 deg F at Bangor (warmest temperature of the summer at Bangor) on the 8^th , and 89 deg F at Caribou, 92 deg F at Houlton, and 95 degrees at Bangor on the 9^th .  Afterwards, more frequent cold frontal passages (occasionally coupled with remnant moisture from tropical systems) brought periodic widespread rainfalls throughout the rest of September, reducing the short term August rainfall deficits across the region.

Climate Corner


Summer 2002: Summer of Extremes

By Victor J. Nouhan, Climate Focal Point

Overall, the summer (June, July, August period) of 2002 for northern and eastern Maine averaged slightly below normal with summer departures ranging from -1.1 deg F at Caribou and -0.4 deg F at Bangor.

The summer began quite cool with June 3.3 and 3.1 deg F below average at Caribou and Bangor respectively. Record low temperatures were recorded on June 4^th with Caribou reaching 32 deg F and Houlton reaching 29 deg F. On Jun 8^th, Houlton and Bangor reached record lows of 31 and 35 deg F respectively. Another cool surge resulted in a record low of 31 deg F at Houlton on June 14^th. By the end of the month, many individuals with gardens noted less than normal growth of garden plants.

In July, there was some recovery in temperatures heralded by a sudden onset of very warm to hot temperatures across the region during the opening days of the month. Caribou reached a record  high of 89 deg F on Jul 2^nd and Houlton broke a record with a high of 92 deg F on July 3^rd. Soon afterwards, however, cool conditions returned as noted by a record low temperature of 47 deg F at Bangor on July 11^th . Another cool surge of Canadian air brought record lows of 41 and 47 deg F at Houlton and Bangor respectively on Jul 24^th and record lows of 38 and 44 degrees respectively on the 25^th. Overall, the month of July averaged 1.6 deg F below average at Caribou and 0.6 deg F below average at Bangor.

The opening days of August brought the return of above normal temperatures that briefly was interrupted by a cool spell featuring record low temperatures of 40 deg F at Houlton both on the 8^th and 9^th.
The biggest temperature highlight of the month

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