Maine, 2020

Heavy Snow in Maine, January 18 to 20, 2020

January 18 to 20, 2020 · NWS CAR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An area of low pressure approached from the west through the night of the 18th into the morning of the 19th. A secondary low then developed and intensified during the 19th while crossing the Gulf of Maine.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

An area of low pressure approached from the west through the night of the 18th into the morning of the 19th. A secondary low then developed and intensified during the 19th while crossing the Gulf of Maine. The low exited across the Maritimes late on the 19th. Deformation zone snows in the wake of the low persisted through the late evening of the 19th. Snow developed through the evening of the 18th into the early morning hours of the 19th. Snow persisted through the late evening of the 19th. The duration of the generally light snow with this event ranged from around 18 hours to in excess of 24 hours. This duration generally helped limit warning criteria snow accumulations. The exception was across southeast Aroostook county with storm total accumulations of 9 to 12 inches. Warning criteria snow accumulations occurred during the late afternoon of the 19th. Storm total snow accumulations across the remainder of northern Maine generally ranged from 6 to 10 inches.

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 18, 6:10 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 6:10 PM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 3:29 PM EST, 6 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

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southeast Aroostook

When
January 18, 10:00 PM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Southeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 9 to 12 inches.

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

More

Every storm in Maine in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, January 2020

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: 868374.