Maine, 2016

Extreme Cold in Maine, December 16, 2016

December 16, 2016 · NWS CAR · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Gusty northwest winds combined with air temperatures of around zero to 15 below zero to produce 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.

Gusty northwest winds combined with air temperatures of around zero to 15 below zero to produce 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 Dec 16, 1:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 1:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 5:14 AM EST, 21 hours 46 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
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM 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 values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northeast Aroostook

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM 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 values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Penobscot

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM 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 values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southeast Aroostook

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM 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 values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Piscataquis

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM 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 values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Somerset

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
RAWS
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill values ranged from 35 to 40 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Piscataquis

When
December 16, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill values 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 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, December 2016

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: 666552, 666553, 666554, 666555, 666556, 666557, 666558.