MAINE, USA — We're already halfway through February, can you believe it? It's been a rollercoaster ride as far as temperatures are concerned. We started the month with extreme cold temperatures followed by record warm temps.
Think back to a couple weeks ago when it hurt to walk outside. The entire region experienced wind chill temps well below zero with Mount Washington in New Hampshire receiving the worst of it.
Mount Washington broke the record for the coldest wind chill temperature ever recorded. Not just in New Hampshire, but in the entire country. "Feels like" temperatures dropped down to -108 degrees, which beat the -105 degree record previously set in Alaska.
Then came the "heat." Temperatures the following Friday did just the opposite. Instead of cold records, we broke (or tied) record high temperatures. Portland and Augusta are two examples.
Portland tied the record set 68 years ago by reaching a high temperature of 52 degrees. That doesn't sound like the warmest day, but remember, we are in February.
Augusta broke its record. The city reached 50 degrees, which is 4 degrees above where it was 22 years ago in 2001.
So....What's next?
The rest of the month is set to stay above average as far as temperatures are concerned. This does not mean we are going to be in the 70s all of a sudden, but it should stay above normal temperatures. Average high temperatures normally sit between 33 and 38 degrees, with low temperatures between 13 and 21 degrees.
During a time of year where many want snow, this doesn't help. Does it mean we are done with snow for the year? Far from it. We have a lot of winter left before spring arrives.
- Aaron