Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
574
CXUS51 KCAR 020156
CLMCAR
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
956 PM EDT SUN JUN 01 2025
...................................
...THE CARIBOU ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2025...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1939 TO 2025
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 96 05/22/1977
LOW 18 05/02/1974
HIGHEST 86 05/14 MM MM 84 05/22
LOWEST 28 05/01 MM MM 31 05/10
AVG. MAXIMUM 62.5 63.0 -0.5 67.6
AVG. MINIMUM 41.9 41.4 0.5 45.3
MEAN 52.2 52.2 -0.0 56.4
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.2 -0.2 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 1 3.7 -2.7 1
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 6.27 1947
MINIMUM 0.47 1982
TOTALS 5.04 1.58
DAILY AVG. 0.16 0.11 0.05 0.09
DAYS >= .01 14 14.7 -0.7 11
DAYS >= .10 9 8.7 0.3 6
DAYS >= .50 2 2.1 -0.1 3
DAYS >= 1.00 2 0.3 1.7 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.80 05/17 TO 05/18 0.91 05/28 TO 05/28
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 10.9 1967
TOTALS 0.0 0.8 -0.8 0.0
SINCE 7/1 106.7 118.2 -11.5 MM
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 0
DAYS >= 1.0 0 0.2 -0.2 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 0 0 MM
24 HR TOTAL MM MM
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 398 403 -5 274
SINCE 7/1 8132 8901 -769 MM
COOLING TOTAL 5 6 -1 16
SINCE 1/1 5 6 -1 MM
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.6
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 25/330 DATE 05/11
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 43/320 DATE 05/11
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.58
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 9
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 8
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 14
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 69
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 4 RAIN 7
LIGHT RAIN 17 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 17 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2
HAZE 1
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
* INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
................................................................................................
...MAY 2025 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE...
MAY 2025 FEATURED NORMAL TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND
WELL ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE.
TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM NORMAL TO 1.5 DEGREES (F)
ABOVE THE 1991-2020 AVERAGES. IN CARIBOU, THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF
52.2 DEGREES EXACTLY MATCHED THE 1991-2020 AVERAGE FOR MAY. NO MAJOR
CLIMATE SITE FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 WARMEST FOR THE MONTH OF MAY.
POSITIVE DEPARTURES FOR THE MONTH WERE MOSTLY DRIVEN BY WARMER THAN
AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURES. IN MILLINOCKET, THE AVERAGE MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE WAS 45.4 DEGREES. THIS WAS 3.6 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE,
AND THE 7TH WARMEST SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1903. ELSEWHERE, AVERAGE
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR MAY WERE 0.5 TO 2.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.
AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR MAY WERE 0.5 TO 2.0 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL. NO MAJOR CLIMATE SITE FINISHED IN THE TOP 10 FOR COLDEST
AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES.
BANGOR FAILED TO RECORD A FREEZE DURING THE MONTH OF MAY FOR THE
FIRST TIME SINCE 2017. THE AVERAGE DATE OF THE LAST FREEZE IN BANGOR
IS MAY 10TH. MILLINOCKET AND CARIBOU SAW A FREEZE ON MAY 1ST.
HOULTON SAW A FREEZE ON MAY 22ND. FROSTS AND FREEZES ARE POSSIBLE AT
MILLINOCKET, HOULTON, AND CARIBOU INTO JUNE, BUT BECOME LESS COMMON.
THE WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURES OF THE MONTH IN THE NORTH CAME ON THE
14TH. MOST NORTHERN LOCATIONS SAW HIGHS REACH THE 80S. CARIBOU SET A
NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 86 DEGREES. THE BANGOR REGION
AND DOWNEAST SAW THEIR WARMEST TEMPERATURES ON THE 28TH. THE COLDEST
HIGH TEMPERATURES CAME ON THE 23RD DURING A NOR`EASTER. THAT DAY,
CARIBOU SET A NEW DAILY RECORD FOR LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE (45
DEGREES).
GREEN-UP WAS OBSERVED IN CARIBOU ON MAY 12TH, WHICH IS AROUND
THE AVERAGE DATE.
PRECIPITATION (RAIN AND MELTED SNOW) WAS GENERALLY 125 TO 175
PERCENT OF NORMAL. IN CARIBOU, 5.04 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL
DURING THE MONTH. THIS MADE MAY 2025 THE 10TH WETTEST MAY IN CARIBOU
SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1939. TOTAL PRECIPITATION AT BANGOR,
MILLINOCKET, AND HOULTON FELL SHORT OF THE TOP 10 WETTEST AT EACH
SITE. NOTABLY, MEASURABLE RAINFALL WAS REPORTED EVERY WEEKEND IN MAY
AT ALL FOUR MAJOR CLIMATE SITES. THIS PUT A SIGNIFICANT DAMPER ON
OUTDOOR RECREATION DURING THE MONTH.
NO SNOWFALL WAS REPORTED AT EITHER CARIBOU OR BANGOR IN MAY.
NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS WERE ISSUED DURING THE MONTH.
THE HIGHEST IMPACT EVENT DURING THE MONTH WAS A SLOW-MOVING
NOR`EASTER FROM THE 23RD TO THE 25TH. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2.5
INCHES WERE REPORTED FROM THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS SOUTHWARD, WITH
LOWER AMOUNTS NORTH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH WERE REPORTED AT THE
COAST. SIGNIFICANT SNOW FELL ON KATAHDIN. PRECIPITATION TYPE
REMAINED RAIN ELSEWHERE DESPITE UNSEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES.
ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EVENT CAME ON THE 31ST, WITH 1 TO 2
INCHES OF RAIN ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION.
EVAPORATION IN CARIBOU Totaled 4.30 INCHES FOR THE MONTH. THANKS TO
THE MULTIPLE RAINFALL EVENTS, SOIL MOISTURE WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL BY
THE END OF MAY. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR, NO PART OF
NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE WAS EVER IN ANY CATEGORY OF DROUGHT
DURING THE MONTH.
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S (CPC) OUTLOOK FOR JUNE 2025
INDICATES THAT THERE IS AN ELEVATED RISK OF ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. HOWEVER, THE CPC`S
OUTLOOK SHOWS NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS FOR ABOVE OR BELOW AVERAGE
PRECIPITATION.
AT THE START OF THE MONTH OF JUNE, AVERAGE HIGHS RANGE FROM THE
UPPER 60S IN THE NORTH, TO THE LOWER 70S DEGREES IN BANGOR. AVERAGE
LOWS RANGE FROM THE MID 40S IN THE NORTH TO THE UPPER 40S AT THE
COAST. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, AVERAGE HIGHS RISE TO THE UPPER 70S
FOR MOST OF THE AREA, BUT A BIT COOLER ALONG THE COAST. AVERAGE LOWS
ARE IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S FOR MOST OF THE AREA BY THE END OF JUNE.
ON AVERAGE, 3.5 TO 4 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION IS OBSERVED
ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE. THUNDERSTORMS BECOME AN
INCREASING THREAT DURING THE MONTH. ON AVERAGE, JUNE PRODUCES THE
2ND HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER, BEHIND ONLY JULY.
THE OCCURRENCE OF COASTAL FOG ALSO INCREASES DURING THE MONTH OF
JUNE.
$$
NC