Maine, 2023

Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Maine, February 3 to 4, 2023

February 3 to 4, 2023 · NWS CAR · 19 events in 15 counties and zones

An Arctic cold front crossed the region during the early morning hours of the 3rd. Temperatures rapidly fell through the 3rd in the wake of the front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
19

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 Arctic cold front crossed the region during the early morning hours of the 3rd. Temperatures rapidly fell through the 3rd in the wake of the front. A tight pressure gradient between Arctic high pressure and low pressure intensifying across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence supported increasing winds. Dangerous wind chills developed with the falling temperatures and increasing winds. The strongest winds and lowest wind chills occurred through the night of the 3rd into the morning of the 4th. During this time winds were sustained at 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 45 to 60 mph. Wind chills across northern areas generally ranged from 50 to 60 below zero. Wind chills across Downeast areas generally ranged from 40 to 50 below zero. These represented the coldest wind chill values in over 30 years for some areas. High temperatures remained below zero across northern areas during the 4th...with around zero to the single digits above zero Downeast. Winds gradually diminished through the afternoon of the 4th. The extreme cold led to tree damage Downeast due to ice formation and expansion within the trees. Several reports of ice quakes were also received due to freezing of ground moisture.|The strong winds also caused extensive blowing and drifting snow across open agricultural areas of northern Maine. Whiteouts occurred at times along with near ground blizzard conditions.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 extreme cold/wind chill, 4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Northwest Aroostook

When
February 3, 1:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph...with gusts of 50 to 60 mph...produced extensive blowing and drifting snow. Whiteout and near ground blizzard conditions occurred at times leading to dangerous travel. The greatest impacts occurred along open agricultural areas.

Winter Weather, Northeast Aroostook

When
February 3, 1:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph...with gusts of 50 to 60 mph...produced extensive blowing and drifting snow. Whiteout and near ground blizzard conditions occurred at times leading to dangerous travel. The greatest impacts occurred along open agricultural areas.

Winter Weather, Northern Penobscot

When
February 3, 1:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph...with gusts of 50 to 60 mph...produced extensive blowing and drifting snow. Whiteout and near ground blizzard conditions occurred at times leading to dangerous travel. The greatest impacts occurred along open agricultural areas.

Winter Weather, Southeast Aroostook

When
February 3, 1:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Southeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph...with gusts of 50 to 60 mph...produced extensive blowing and drifting snow. Whiteout and near ground blizzard conditions occurred at times leading to dangerous travel. The greatest impacts occurred along open agricultural areas.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northwest Aroostook

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 50 to 60 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northeast Aroostook

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 50 to 60 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Somerset

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 50 to 60 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Piscataquis

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 50 to 60 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Penobscot

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southeast Aroostook

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Southeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Piscataquis

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Central Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 50 to 60 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Penobscot

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Central Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Penobscot

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Interior Hancock

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Interior Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.563, -68.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Washington

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Central Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Coastal Hancock

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.563, -68.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Coastal Washington

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Piscataquis

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Washington

When
February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum wind chill values ranged from 40 to 50 below zero.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
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 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, February 2023

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1080368, 1080369, 1080370, 1080371, 1080353, 1080354, 1080355, 1080356, 1080357, 1080358, 1080359, 1080360, 1080361, 1080362, 1080363, 1080364, 1080365, 1080366, 1080367.