Christmas has come and gone. So has New Year's Eve and New
Year's Day.
And, to the consternation of many in Maine, what little snow has fallen
in the state hasn't stuck around either. Between one and two inches of snow
fell Friday in southern Maine, with trace amounts elsewhere, but still the
amount of snowfall for much of the state is below average for this time of
year.
"It's Mother Nature. She's playing tricks on us, or something. Now it's
getting nerve-racking," said Terry Hill, whose cash flow is nonexistent
because her rental cabins are empty at Shin Pond Village, north of Baxter
State Park, normally alive this time of year with the buzz of snowmobiles.
Nationwide, the lack of snow is costing tens of millions of dollars in
winter recreation, restaurant, lodging and sporting goods sales, according to
experts. In the West, a lack of snow could result in less-than-normal water
being added this spring to the region's reservoirs, which last winter
benefited from above-average snowfall, some experts said.
The biggest factor so far this winter in Maine, however, has been the
above-average temperatures. According to meteorologists with the National
Weather Service in Caribou and in Gray, the average temperatures in southern
and northern Maine for the past two months have been roughly around five
degrees higher than historical averages in Bangor, Caribou and Portland.
For most of Maine, that difference has meant that temperatures for much
of the young winter have been above 32 degrees, rather than below the freezing
mark.
The timing of the temperature changes also has played a big factor in the
overall lack of snow cover during the past two months. Though several inches
of snow fell around Halloween, and then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, soon
after each storm there have been warmer temperatures that have melted the
white stuff or washed it away with rain.
Mike Kistner, a meteorologist at the NWS office in Gray said Thursday
that snowfall in southern Maine has lagged behind the northern part of the
state. Only nine inches of snow have fallen at the Portland Jetport since late
October, he said, which averages about 18 inches each fall through December.
"We're about half of average right now," Kistner said. "Any snow we did
get at the end of November melted really quickly."
According to NWS meteorologists in Caribou, this winter's dominant
weather pattern has had storms tracking northwest of Maine, over the Saint
Lawrence River valley. As a result, more warmer air has been tracking inland
from the Gulf of Maine, which has kept temperatures above freezing more
frequently.
"It's pretty significant," NWS Meteorologist Todd Foisy said Thursday.
"It's not the warmest [November and December] on record, but it's close."
In Aroostook County, some business owners who depend on skiers and
snowmobilers as customers say they have been adversely affected by the lack of
snow. Snowmobile industry officials elsewhere in Maine and other northern New
England states have indicated that the sooner snow builds up on the ground,
the better.
Though not dependent on snow, the winter pastime of ice fishing has been
hampered by temperatures that have prevented solid layers of ice on lakes and
ponds.
Home heating fuel dealers also have been affected by the mild weather.
