Heavy Snow in Maine, December 21 to 22, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Maine, December 21 to 22, 2008
Start: 2008-12-21T10:00
End: 2008-12-22T02:00
Location: Maine

December 21 to 22, 2008 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

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.

An area of low pressure weakened as it crossed the Great Lakes on the morning of the 21st as a second area of low pressure developed off the North Carolina coast. The coastal low intensified rapidly as it moved northeast along the East Coast to Nova Scotia by the morning of the 22nd. The coastal low brought heavy snow to the entire state with amounts generally ranging from 10 to 15 inches in coastal areas to 20 to 30 inches in the mountains. Eustis reported a total of 41 inches of snow from the storm.

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 Dec 20, 5:59 PM EST, 16 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 20, 5:59 PM EST, 16 hours 1 minute before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 3:54 PM EST, 18 hours 6 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

17 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Androscoggin

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central Somerset

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Central Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coastal Cumberland

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coastal Waldo

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coastal York

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior Cumberland

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior Waldo

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior York

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Interior York forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kennebec

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Knox

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lincoln

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Franklin

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Oxford

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sagadahoc

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Franklin

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oxford

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Somerset

When: December 21, 10:00 AM EST to December 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southern 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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, December 2008

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 148290, 148291, 148292, 148293, 148294, 148295, 148296, 148297, 148298, 148299, 148300, 148301, 148302, 148303, 148304, 148305, 148306.