Extreme Cold in Maine, February 17 to 18, 2001

Name: Extreme Cold in Maine, February 17 to 18, 2001
Start: 2001-02-17T20:00
End: 2001-02-18T04:00
Location: Maine

February 17 to 18, 2001 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

The combination of wind and cold temperatures behind an arctic cold front caused wind chill temperatures across western and central Maine to drop to 20 to 35 degrees below zero in many locations.

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.

The combination of wind and cold temperatures behind an arctic cold front caused wind chill temperatures across western and central Maine to drop to 20 to 35 degrees below zero in many locations.

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 Feb 17, 1:32 PM EST, 6 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 1:32 PM EST, 6 hours 28 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
132 PM EST SAT FEB 17 2001

ZONES...
ARCTIC FRONT WILL MOVE OFFSHORE BY THIS EVENING USHERING IN MUCH
COLDER AIR ON GUSTY NW WINDS.  WINDS WILL DIE DOWN OVERNIGHT AS
TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO DIVE.  BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT TO
PUT UP A WIND CHILL ADVISORY.  AS TEMPS DROP...SO DO WINDS...SO IT
WILL BE DIFFICULT TO REACH OR TO MAINTAIN CRITERIA OVER A LARGE
AREA.  AT THIS TIME WILL OPT NOT TO ISSUE A WIND CHILL ADV...BUT
WILL MONITOR SITUATION.

ON SUNDAY CONDITIONS BEGIN TO MODERATE AND CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY
WITH WEAK WEATHER SYSTEMS IN CONTROL.  NO CHANCE FOR PCPN UNTIL
MONDAY NIGHT WITH WEAK WAA PATTERN SETTING UP ALONG WITH INCREASED
RH.

WILL USE FWC/FAN/MAV COMPROMISE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT LATEST BIASES.
THIS WILL INCLUDE GOING BELOW GUIDANCE FOR TONIGHTS MIN TEMPS.  POPS
LOOK OK WITH DRY WX THROUGH MONDAY.

EXTENDED...
THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT FEATURE IS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH
BY 12Z THURSDAY /THE 12Z AVN IS FASTER THAN THE 00Z MRF AND WILL USE
THE FASTER SOLUTION/.  AHEAD OF THIS FRONT MODERATING TEMPERATURES
...CLOUDS AND A CHANCE OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION CAN BE EXPECTED.  THE
850 MB TEMPS ARE COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW BUT A SSW SURFACE FLOW MAY
WARM UP THE BOUNDARY LAYER...WITH RAIN OR A MIX POSSIBLE ALONG THE
COAST AND EVEN INTO SOUTHERN INTERIOR SECTIONS LATE WED/WED NIGHT.
AFTER THE FROPA A RETURN TO COLD WEATHER ON THURSDAY.

CWF...
WILL CONTINUE THE GALE WARNING FOR TONIGHT...WITH WINDS LETTING UP
BY MORNING.  MRPCWN FORECASTING WINDS AS STRONG AS 43 KTS AT MISM1
THIS EVENING.  HAVE NOT YET SEEN GALE CRITERIA YET...BUT WINDS
SHOULD BE PICKING UP DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS...ESPECIALLY WITH
PASSAGE OF THE ARCTIC FRONT WHICH WILL START THE STRONG COLD AIR
ADVECTION ON THE TIGHTENING NW PRESSURE GRADIENT.

WINDS AND SEAS LIKELY TO STAY AT LEAST SCA STRENGTH THROUGH SUNDAY
NIGHT AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS FAIRLY STRONG WITH THE
EASTWARD MOVING SURFACE HIGH STAYING WELL TO OUR SOUTH.  THE SW FLOW
INCREASES ON MONDAY PER 12Z AVN MODEL...POSSIBLY BACK INTO GALE
FORCE AND CONTINUES MONDAY NIGHT.

ATTN. NWS WFOS AND MPC...
PRELIMINARY COASTAL MARINE FORECAST...PWMWRKCWF AVBL FOR
COORDINATION PURPOSES.

FCSTID = 2

.GYX...
ME...GLW.
NH...GLW.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Androscoggin

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Somerset

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Coastal Cumberland

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Coastal Waldo

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Coastal York

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Interior Cumberland

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Interior Waldo

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Interior York

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kennebec

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Knox

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lincoln

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Franklin

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Oxford

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sagadahoc

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Franklin

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Oxford

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Somerset

When: February 17, 8:00 PM EST to February 18, 4:00 AM 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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, February 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: 5232738, 5232739, 5232740, 5232741, 5232742, 5232743, 5232744, 5232745, 5232746, 5232747, 5232819, 5232820, 5232821, 5232822, 5232823, 5232824, 5232825.