Maine, 2015

Extreme Cold in Maine, January 16 to 17, 2015

January 16 to 17, 2015 · NWS CAR · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Very cold temperatures along with gusty winds produced dangerous wind chills across northern Maine from the evening of the 16th into the morning of the 17th. Temperatures of 5 to 15 below zero along with sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph produced wind chills of 35 to 40 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
7

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.

Very cold temperatures along with gusty winds produced dangerous wind chills across northern Maine from the evening of the 16th into the morning of the 17th. Temperatures of 5 to 15 below zero along with sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph produced wind chills of 35 to 40 below zero.

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 Jan 16, 5:53 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 16, 5:53 PM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 16, 3:22 PM EST, 5 hours 38 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 16, 5:01 PM EST, 3 hours 59 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northwest Aroostook

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northwest Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northeast Aroostook

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Somerset

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Piscataquis

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Penobscot

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southeast Aroostook

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Southeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Piscataquis

When
January 16, 9:00 PM EST to January 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Central Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

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

More

Every storm in Maine in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, January 2015

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: 556065, 556066, 556068, 556070, 556073, 556075, 556077.