This month so far has been the coldest November on record for several locales in Maine, according to the National Weather Service. Bitter single-digit temperatures on the holiday last week set Thanksgiving records for cold in Bangor and Portland.
Bangor, Augusta and Millinocket each have had their coldest recorded Novembers ever so far this month, according to federal weather data posted online by the Southeast Regional Climate Center at the University of North Carolina. Bangor has averaged just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, Millinocket just above 29 degrees and Augusta just below 33 degrees. Records for those locations date back at least 40 years.
The Portland Jetport and Houlton each are on pace to have their third coldest Novembers since records for those locations started being kept. Historical weather data date back to 1940 for the jetport and to 1950 for Houlton.
Just three months ago, the jetport had its hottest August ever recorded.
As for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Portland area set a record low of 6 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest recorded temperature among data that stretch back to the 1870s. In Bangor, where weather records date back to 1926, the temperature hit an all-time low for the holiday of 5 degrees.
There have been snowier Novembers, however, in eastern and northern Maine. Greg Cornwell, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Caribou, said Bangor has had nearly 16 inches of snow so far this month, which would make this the city’s fifth snowiest November. Caribou, with 29.3 inches, is on track to have its third snowiest November.
According to a video posted on YouTube by Corey Bogel, another National Weather Service meteorologist in Caribou, this winter overall is not projected to be especially cold or snowy. The next three months in New England are projected to be slightly above average, he said, though temperatures might dip below average in late winter.
“This does not mean there will not be any bitterly cold days or even a prolonged stretch of bitterly cold weather,” Bogel says in the video.
