Heavy Snow in Maine, December 26 to 27, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Maine, December 26 to 27, 2005
Start: 2005-12-26T07:00
End: 2005-12-27T10:00
Location: Maine

December 26 to 27, 2005 · NWS CAR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Slow moving low pressure intensified while tracking along the Maine coast to Nova Scotia from the 26th to the 27th. Snow developed in advance of this low during the morning of the 25th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 CAR wrote it up.

Slow moving low pressure intensified while tracking along the Maine coast to Nova Scotia from the 26th to the 27th. Snow developed in advance of this low during the morning of the 25th. Snow continued through the 25th...with increasing intensities starting later on the 25th. Snow...heavy at times...continued through the 26th with snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour at times. Winds increased to 20 to 30 mph during the 26th...with similar wind speeds continuing into the 27th. These winds contributed to extensive blowing and drifting snow. Snowfall intensities began to diminish late on the 26th...with lighter snows continuing through much of the morning of the 27th. Storm total snow accumulations during the 48 hours of this event ranged from 24 to 36 inches across northern portions of the region...with around 12 inches across southern portions of the region where more of the precipitation fell in the form of sleet and freezing rain.

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 Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 5:22 AM EST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 5:22 AM EST, 1 hour 38 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 26, 5:43 AM EST, 1 hour 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
543 AM EST MON DEC 26 2005

ANZ050-MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029>032-271045-
COASTAL WATERS FROM EASTPORT ME TO STONINGTON ME OUT 25 NM-
NORTHWEST AROOSTOOK-NORTHEAST AROOSTOOK-NORTHERN SOMERSET-
NORTHERN PISCATAQUIS-NORTHERN PENOBSCOT-SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK-
CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS-CENTRAL PENOBSCOT-SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT-
INTERIOR HANCOCK-CENTRAL WASHINGTON-COASTAL HANCOCK-
COASTAL WASHINGTON-SOUTHERN PISCATAQUIS-NORTHERN WASHINGTON-
543 AM EST MON DEC 26 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
WINTER STORM WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
MAINE UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN
EFFECT FOR THE INTERIOR DOWNEAST AREAS OF MAINE UNTIL 7 AM EST
TUESDAY. FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO THE
STATEMENT /PWMWSWCAR/ ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS TUESDAY MORNING. ANOTHER ROUND
OF PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN IS
EXPECTED LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY AS LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES THE
OHIO VALLEY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTERS AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS ARE URGED TO RELAY ANY SNOWFALL
AMOUNTS OR OTHER WINTER WEATHER INFORMATION TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN CARIBOU.

HEWITT

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 26, 4:29 AM EST, 2 hours 31 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Piscataquis

When: December 26, 7:00 AM EST to December 27, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Somerset

When: December 26, 7:00 AM EST to December 27, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, December 2005

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5483760, 5483761.