BANGOR, Maine — The mercury was rising to record levels Sunday, but cabin fever was on the wane for most Mainers.
Clear skies, bright sun and record-bashing temperatures as high as the mid-70s gave people more than enough reason to get outside and enjoy the weather as the temperature officially topped out at 76 in the Bangor area Sunday afternoon.
“We broke a lot of records today,” said Joseph Hewitt, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service office in Caribou.
And it won’t be long before we flirt with record highs again.
“Monday will cool off from the upper 40s to 50 in the north and lower- to mid-50s in Greater Bangor and the Piscataquis region, but there will be a resurgence with 60s on Tuesday.
Wednesday could be warmest day with lower to mid-70s Down East all the way to Bangor and Dover-Foxcroft.”
For William Stanley of Bangor and 2-year-old son Aleczander, it didn’t matter whether Sunday’s highs were records or not. It was a perfect day to get out of the house.
“He was all excited because we got to go outside,” said Stanley while chasing his energetic son all around the playground equipment at Broadway Park. “This is really the first time I’ve been able to get outside, especially with him, probably since October.”
Temperatures were a bit cooler near the coast, but that didn’t stop motorcyclists from taking to the streets.
John Dorr of Auburn had already braved the elements a couple times this year on his 2007 Harley-Davidson Heritage Soft Tail, but his ride to Pemaquid Point was decidedly less brave under Sunday’s bright sun and spring-like temperatures.
“This is rare,” said Dorr after a walk around Pemaquid light with his friend and passenger, Susan Walden of Richmond. “We came up to the area just to enjoy the nice view. This is a very opportune time to take a ride.”
Walden said she noticed the temperature drop about 10 degrees between Route 1 and the tip of the Pemaquid peninsula about 15 miles south. Still, temperatures at the coastline were firmly in the 50s, warm enough for dozens of people to drive past not-yet-opened stores, restaurants and ice cream shack to see one of midcoast Maine’s most scenic areas.
Bangor’s previous high was 65, set last year. Hewitt said other record highs were set Sunday in Caribou with 64 degrees, Houlton with 69 and Millinocket with 72. The previous records weren’t just broken, they were smashed. Caribou’s previous high was 48, set in 1968; Houlton’s was 61 in 1936; and Millinocket’s was 62, also in 1936.
Work was about the only thing keeping people from venturing outside and enjoying the weather.
“Working Monday through Friday, I don’t get a chance to get out much,” said Darci, a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor. “I normally get out to walk because I have to walk the dog. But the nicer the weather, the longer the walk.”
Sunday was an ideal day for the Bangor resident to give her 2-year-old, 130-pound bull mastiff a walk around the park off Howard Street with friend Shawna. Both women preferred not to have their last names reported.
The weather was a great birthday present for Darci’s son Simon, who turned 10 Sunday and was zipping along the sidewalks on his Razor scooter along with a friend.
The ground was still soggy in some spots, muddy in others, and snow- or ice-covered in still others at the Rolland F. Perry City Forest in Bangor, but that didn’t keep people from hiking, running or biking their way along the trails at the popular outdoor spot.
“It was a no-brainer to get outdoors, and taking the bike was my husband’s idea,” said Denyse Wilson of Bangor. “I was out here a lot skiing whenever there was any snow. My husband and kids probably get out here twice a month or so when it’s nice.”
Wilson said city forest conditions were quite unique and enjoyable Sunday.
“I liked the thick mud to ride through and the occasional wafts of cold air coming up in certain spots,” she said. “I went down the railroad bed and into the other wildlife sanctuary. It was great.”
Paul Corcoran of Bangor and son Kyle Hylan-Corcoran came to the city forest to walk their 9-year-old dog named Lucy as they hiked and did some bird watching.
“I would say it’s the beginning of spring finally,” Corcoran said. “Who knows? Mother Nature might still throw us a curveball and give us some snow, but spring’s here today.”
For some, visiting Pemaquid Point and nearby Colonial Pemaquid was a long-term goal sparked Sunday by high temperatures and bright sunshine.
Mary Gazda and her husband drove up from Cumberland.
“We’ve been wanting to explore this particular place for some time,” she said.
Jennifer Riefler and her son Terrence Reid drove down from Verona Island, lured by the area’s long and storied Native American and English settlement history. And of course, the sun.
“It’s like April weather in March,” said Riefler. “You’d expect at this time of year snow and ice and strong winds and trying to find protection and here we are in a sunny, glorious April-type day. It’s great.”
“Sweatshirt weather,” chimed in Reid.
Cabin fever? If you have “cabin fever” after this mild winter, it’s your own danged fault.
Gee no Church of global warming replies yet Iam shocked
If this is global warming I am all for it. I feel sorry for the oil companies, well not really. I do think this has been a great help the the elderly, homeless and everyone else who had no idea how they were going to pay for heating oil this year. Sometimes things work out for the best.
Finally a sensible comment on these boards! Thanks
Don’t speak too soon. Climate change, if it continues at this rate (much faster than any other warming in earth’s history) will have major consequences on food supplies and geography. Be happy you were born when you were and weren’t born 25 years from now.
So Rachel, We’ll be growing bananas in Bangor soon and lets throw in some Grape orchards and of course we could also start growing Coffee Beans. Consequence? Snow birds will soon be coming to Maine in the winter. These are all win- win. And if I was born 25 years from now, they’ll have a cure for almost every disease by then. Sign me up. And all cars will run on Water.
Global Warming is OK !
I’m Lovin’ It.
Call it what you may. Our Universe is going through a Cycle and some chicken little’s have invented the claim of Global warming. The only global warming we are about too see is all the bombs of WWIII. And we can do nothing about either one.
Dennis, paranoid much? Again with the random capital letters. Seriously buddy, come outside of your isolated shack (or bunker?) in the woods, and enjoy the man-made weather were having.
Rachel, My random Capital letters are your fault Rachel, they remind me of your posts. Who’s paranoid, I welcome a new war. There’s no better way to put a country back to work… History Rachel. I’ve been out of my shack racking leaves, turning over the garden and plotting out areas for my Banana trees.
“Grape orchards”?
Yeesh.
either water or unicorn poop.
Dennis, you really need to educate yourself.
I do everyday, thanks for the reminder.
You are awesome.
I’m afraid if you think Rachel is awesome you either have a Crush on her or on the other hand if you think that she has some idea what she’s talking about then I’m sure you also believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The US has weapons of mass destruction and we’ve actually used them. And it’s people like Rachel who without any real data spread Fear and people like you who trust that she’s right. The Meek will inherit the Earth and Kevin your first in line.
Dennis, you are only slightly out of your mind, so don’t fret. But little tip, and I don’t claim to be any sort of grammar genius, I’m certainly not, but you keep capitalizing random words which might befuddle readers. Plus, you don’t want Soda companies coming after you legally.
Dang it, now I want a Grape Crush… they still even make em? I can see it now, all frosty and cold in its glass bottle… oooh or Strawberry Crush….
Rachel, I am of the opinion that you need these words in caps. For I fear your lack of foresight is certainly a shortcoming which you may never overcome. The caps are for your benefit only and all the others on here don’t need the extra help. Rachel you are a befuddling person.
I still believe it is a cycle but I know the CO2 we’ve put into our atmosphere doesn’t help.
I have friends in Romania that tell me this has been a terribly cold and snowy winter in Europe. (-40°F and below for extended periods) with awful snow storms due to the jet stream dipping down from the Arctic circle.
We will get ours here in Maine, just wait.
(I am not looking forward to any more snow, BTW.)
Reeeaaaallllly? Warmer climes mean longer growing seasons and lower heating bills.
THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING!
Don’t tell me you’re denying it? 90+ percent of scientists agreed years ago that GW is genuine.
And just last year half of them were put in jail for flat out lying about Global Warming for their benefit. They were trying to restart this cottage industry, which needs to be round filed permanently.
Talk about lying!!!!! Shame on you Mitchell. Your reply is total bunk!
It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
Thank goodness “someone” took pity on the poor people in ME and other northern states after the government cut everyone’s fuel assistance. Thank accordingly.
It wasn’t the government that cut peoples fuel assistance. It was US, the people who believed they didn’t deserve it, that supported the cut. iPad sales are at a record high though. Pretty screwed up world we live in.
When you blame “the government” for cutting things, ask yourself who are the people who vote for this kind of change because they foolishly believe America is financially destitute, when nothing is further from the truth. People need to shut Fox News off. The wealthy are doing better than ever and are sitting on piles of cash, while the middle class, what’s left of it, has to continue forking over their hard-earned money.
It is painfully obvious that this child has not worked hard nor long enough in this world to make an experienced and informed comment.
How is it obvious, other than you glanced at my Facebook page and saw that I am young? Creepy.
You wish. Why would you put out an invite like that Rachel. Your just asking for all the weirdo’s to come check out your FB pages. You must be the Rachel Huntress in warrior garb. lol
Am I to gather from this response that you disagree with the statement that the middle class is struggling/shrinking and that the wealthy are as wealthy as they’ve ever been?
R. Lets see first you say Financially Destitute. And then you say the rich have all the money and are actually sitting on piles of the people’s money who they and the banks have stolen from everyone else. The rich folk don’t reinvest their money in the US to create new jobs here. These guys export jobs Rachel. We were bailing out and saving the largest Banks, The largest auto makers, the Mortgage guys who bet against the very mortgages they sold to fail, were paying the CEO’s 50 – 100’s of millions of taxpayer bailout monies. The average citizen got 1000 dollars. Every town has a new Fire Station, New Cruisers etc. 50 million is being spent on MC bldg in BGR, why. The halls of Congress are so full of money its a free for all, THE WEALTHY.
We’ve left the Fox in the Hen House and they don’t want to leave!
Holy Crap-I hope when I am 78 I am still able to run rapids……46 years to go! Alright Skip!
Dang! I’m actually hoping the same!
I though Cabin Fever was part of being a Mainer.
Well, at least my descendants, 4x over, will inherit that beachfront property in Houlton that I promised them (if they don’t burn it down and sell the land before then) !
global warming I feel is a joke. I don’t want to sound like some conspiracy theorist but what if waaaaaaaaaay back when, when some schmuck was figuring out all this time and date stuff maybe he was off by just a couple minutes….. that would eventually make the seasons “change” due to global warming… just a stoners though..
It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.
Awesome weather! Sadly all the wanksters were out walking the streets again, with their sideways baseball caps and fatman pants, portending a record setting summer of countless little gangs of young punks roaming the city banging on street signs at all hours, making sure that those of us that have a job and contribute to society, can’t get a decent night sleep because we have to keep looking out into our driveways to make sure our cars are not being broken into or other despicable acts are being perpetrated on our property. I wish the city would enforce a curfew to help these pukes under control.
When I read critiques like this one, I always wonder what kind or adolescence was enjoyed by the writers. Either they did the pink hair fluorescent-green-hot-pants thing for girls, or the long-haired hippie torn-jeans look for boys. Myself, (from a different time) I wore black engineer boots a black leather jacket with a chain attached to my wallet. The adults hated it…. which of course was the point.
On the other hand, When I see the adolescents dressing in what ever fad is currently in vogue, I wonder what king of adults they will be. One of my foster children just loved wearing clothing which made him look like a homeless person, or even a cast-member of “The Walking Dead.” He now works for Raytheon down in Waltham Massachusetts, and wears a suit and tie to the job. When I show him pictures of us back-in-the-day, he cringes…. That’s my fun!
I’m sad Regina, all you could talk about were the Pukes, Punks and Fat Men in pants. We all know what side of the tracks you grew up on and this kind of thing didn’t happen there. Does a story about record temps always bring out the worst in your kind. If the answer is yes, then you should move to a colder clime like Alaska. That also would be a great way to decrease your intake of Valium and highballs. Or is that blueballs.
“This is rare” may have once been true but is not true now..Our warmest temperatures, both in Maine and globally, have occurred in the last 15 years. I wonder why? Any global warming deniers have a reason?I “I don’t want to believe it so it can’t be true” does not count.
And maybe someone has a reason for the record loss of ice in the Artic and Greenland.
UnclePaul, It’s getting warmer and above certain temp ice will melt. The Universe is going through a cycle. That’s all you need to know. The Sun is also going through a cycle where she’s so much hotter that she has been sending Solar flares outward. It’s not a loss it’s a gain for the fresh water of the world.
”
That’s all you need to know.”
I don’t think you are in a position to tell me what I need to know or how much. Worry about your own education.
ANYONE who has had cabin fever this winter is either over 80, under 5 or totally lazy… and the good weather won’t change the houseboundedness for any of these groups EXCEPT the elderly.
Short winter days means you go into work in the dark and come out in the dark Harry. Unless you income comes from the taxpayer you don’t see much light in the winter… It is beautiful out.
…or unless you work outdoors. When I was young, the term “cabin fever” meant you were stuck in your cabin… Today called a home.
I saw plenty of light this winter, and no, I’m not on the taxpayers dime. Walked the dog at 7AM, and again at 4:30. light then except for a very few days in December and January.
Still can’t argue with 14-15 hours of daylight unless you’re nocturnal! :) I’m definitely glad for more light and less chills…
Be careful what you wish for…. for you will probably get it.
I’m not wishing for anything other than how it currently is-I don’t want it to be like that Twilight Zone episode! :)
Harry your a good man and I respect you.
That clown with the ice cream is actually texting rather than paying attention to that pretty woman he’s with. What’s the old saying, youth is wasted on the young.
I find it weirder that she’s eating an ice cream cone with a spoon – never would have noticed if not for your comment…Hurrah for warm weather!
Growing coffee beans here? Fantastic! Instead of Juan Valdez and his donkey, WE can have Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. We can process the beans and ship them out at the waterfront.
Wow someone who gets it. There are forward thinking companies now hiring people not for work in the present, but for the work in the future. How many acres of forested land in Maine that could yield a seasonal product 20- 30 years from now? Searsport and Portland and Bangor harbors would be so busy. Jobs that would require people to do something besides sit in a cubicle for 8hrs. Maine is going to be a very desirable place to live, very soon.
I know this has absolutely nothing to do with this article — but not sure where else to ask it – who/where/when is it decided when a comments section is closed? There have been a couple other articles I was going to comment on, and they had just been posted within 24 hours, and the comment section is already closed; whereas it seems like w/ other articles the comment section is kept open for a considerable amount of time. Thanks for any insight, all!
Not sure but from what I can draw, it seems the really controversial ones get pulled first…unsure if it’s overall content in general or how many comments get flagged in a certain period of time possibly?
That was what I thought as well, but then there was an article about the Ellsworth Fire Department doing a controlled burn/training that was posted Saturday, had one comment, and then was already closed to comments. I was going to put something about the fact that my 6-yo always loves being able to watch those from a distance when we can… didn’t see anything controversial about that!
Typically the comment section seems to be open for a couple of days however I think it depends upon who is overseeing the comment section at any particular time. If a favorite of BDN is getting lambasted sometimes the comment section timeline will be cut short. Just my observations.