March temps below average, according to weather service

5 years ago

CARIBOU Maine — April is the month that Karen Washburn of Caribou looks forward to at the start of every year new.

“It is usually the month that I start seeing seeds and garden supplies being put out in the stores,” she said. “That is when I get the dreamy look in my eyes that my husband calls my ‘seed stupor.’ I just love planning what I am going to put in the garden each year and making room in the house for the seeds I am going to start early before I transplant them. There is nothing like signs of spring in Maine.”

Signs of spring were predominant last month with melting snow and patches of mucky grass peeking through.

Temperatures for March ranged from 1.5 to 3.5 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.

The warmest temperatures for March were observed on the last day, when Caribou saw a high of 56 degrees. Bangor and Millinocket both had a high of 60 degrees. The highest temperature ever recorded in Caribou during the month was 75 degrees, which occurred on March 21, 2012. The record low was 28 degrees below zero on March 28, 2001.

The average maximum temperature for the month is 34 degrees, according to Rich Norton, meteorologist at the NWS in Caribou, with an average minimum temperature of 12.1 degrees.

Only seven inches of snow was observed in Caribou last month, which was 11.3 inches below the average of 18.3 inches. It ranked as the sixth least snowy March on record, and was the least snowy March since 2010. At Bangor, 6.7 inches of snow was observed, which was 5 inches below the average of 11.7 inches, according to Norton.

Caribou has received 154.1 inches of snow since July 1, and 7.1 inches of snow since March 1. Through the month, this winter ranked as the 4th snowiest on record at Caribou.

The most significant weather event last month was a winter storm on March 4. Most of northern Maine received between 2 and 6 inches, while parts of coastal Hancock and Washington counties observed between 10 and 16 inches of snow.

At the beginning of March, the snow depth ranged from 3 to 5 feet across northern areas. Amounts dropped rapidly to the south of Millinocket with 8 inches on the ground at Bangor and between 2 and 6 inches along the coast. By the end of the month, there was little to no snow in the greater Bangor region and along the coast. But Millinocket still recorded 14 inches on the ground March 31, and Aroostook still registered from 2 to 3 feet.