Maine, 2001

Drought in Maine, December 1 to 31, 2001

December 1 to 31, 2001 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

December was another month in an unending string of drier than normal months. 09 inches below normal).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GYX wrote it up.

December was another month in an unending string of drier than normal months. Precipitation ranged from 1.33 inches at Long Falls Dam (1.71 inches below normal) up to 3.89 inches at West Rockport (1.09 inches below normal). The Palmer Drought Severity Index was in the extreme category at the end of the month. Voluntary water restrictions continued in December in several towns while mandatory restrictions were still in place in Boothbay Harbor. Wells, mostly dug, were going dry at an alarming rate. Over 700 wells had been reported to the state as going dry. Well drillers were reporting brisk business with backlogs into March. Six ground water monitoring wells reached record low levels for December, with two of these reaching new all time record lows. The water level of Sebago Lake dropped to 24 percent below normal while reservoirs in the Kennebec and Androscoggin River basins were 30 percent and 17 percent below normal, respectively. Precipitation for the year was 19.66 inches below normal at Belfast, 18.20 inches below normal at Kingfield, 17.07 inches below normal at West Rockport, 15.93 inches below normal at Albion and Moosehead Lake, 15.59 inches below normal at Augusta, 15.27 inches below normal at Harmony, 15.15 inches below normal at Bingham, and 15.04 inches below normal at Waterville

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 8:32 PM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 8:32 PM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
832 PM EST FRI NOV 30 2001

ZONES...
FRONT WRAPPED ARND WRN AND SRN BNDRY OF FCST AREA AND THEN NE DOWN
THE CST FINALLY COMING ONSHORE JUST W OF RKD.  LOW LVL JET NR
ALB-PLB LN IS MOVG E ALG WITH SOME CNVCTN.  STARTING TO SEE FRNT
BEING PUSHED NE SW NH AND CT VLY AHD OF JET/CNVCTN.  TEMPS ON THE
RISE IN THESE SCTNS.  XPCT TO SEE TEMPS RISING ALL SCTNS OVRNGT AS
SYS MOVES THRU.

PREV FCST HAS DECENT HANDLE ON SITUATION BUT WILL FINE TUNE TEMPS IN
AN UPDATE.

MARINE...
TOUGH FCST AS FRNT SPLITS NR SHORE FROM REST OF AREA.  FCST LOOKS
GOOD WITH MINOR IF ANY CHGS.  SCA TO REMAIN UP.

.GYX...
ME...SCA.
NH...SCA.

JFR

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Androscoggin

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Central Somerset

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Central Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal Cumberland

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal Waldo

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal York

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior Cumberland

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior Waldo

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior York

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Interior York forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kennebec

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Knox

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lincoln

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Franklin

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Oxford

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sagadahoc

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Franklin

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Oxford

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Somerset

When
December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Maine in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, December 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275384, 5275385, 5275386, 5275387, 5275388, 5275389, 5275390, 5275391, 5275392, 5275393, 5275394, 5275395, 5275396, 5275397, 5275398, 5275399, 5275400.