Maine, 2023

Winter Storm in Maine, January 22 to 23, 2023

January 22 to 23, 2023 · NWS GYX · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

The second in a series of winter storms over the course of a week developed on the 22nd over the Gulf Coast. Low pressure moved northeastward along the Eastern Seaboard, passing very near the elbow of Cape Cod by sunrise on the 23rd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 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
15

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.

The second in a series of winter storms over the course of a week developed on the 22nd over the Gulf Coast. Low pressure moved northeastward along the Eastern Seaboard, passing very near the elbow of Cape Cod by sunrise on the 23rd. The proximity of the storm track allowed some mixed precipitation to move in over parts of far southwestern Maine. Farther northwest a pivoting band of moderate to heavy snow brought double digit snowfall to the rest of western Maine south of the Longfellow Mountains. As the storm moved into the Canadian Maritimes snow quickly came to an end during the evening of the 23rd. The combination of the back-to-back storms and wet nature of the snow led to power outages in York County.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Southern Oxford

When
January 22, 7:00 PM EST to January 23, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall quickly became moderate at times before midnight, then tapered to light snow which continued through most of the day on the 23rd. The Longfellow Mountains were on the northern edge of the heaviest snow band, with snowfall totals ranging from 6 inches in the mountains to 12 inches on the southern slopes.

Winter Storm, Interior Cumberland Highlands

When
January 22, 7:00 PM EST to January 23, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Interior Cumberland Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall quickly became moderate at times before midnight, then tapered to light snow which continued through most of the day on the 23rd. The Longfellow Mountains were on the northern edge of the heaviest snow band, with snowfall totals ranging from 10 to 12 inches.

Winter Storm, Coastal York

When
January 22, 7:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. Parts of the southwestern coast remained just on the southern end of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. At the same time the southernmost part of Maine near Kittery mixed with freezing rain and rain at times during the day. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. The wet nature of the snow allowed for weighing down of tree branches which led to approximately 30,000 power outages in the county. Snowfall totals ranged from 5 inches near Kittery to 9 inches near Saco Bay.

Winter Storm, Southern Franklin

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall quickly became moderate at times before midnight, then tapered to light snow which continued through most of the day on the 23rd. The Longfellow Mountains were on the northern edge of the heaviest snow band, with snowfall totals ranging from 6 inches in the mountains to 12 inches on the southern slopes.

Winter Storm, Southern Somerset

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall quickly became moderate at times before midnight, then tapered to light snow which continued through most of the day on the 23rd. The Longfellow Mountains were on the northern edge of the heaviest snow band, with snowfall totals ranging from 6 inches in the mountains to 12 inches on the southern slopes.

Winter Storm, Interior York

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Interior York forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. A mesoscale band of snow set up just south of the foothills of western Maine and was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. The wet nature of the snow allowed for weighing down of tree branches which led to approximately 30,000 power outages in the county. Snowfall totals ranged from 10 to 16 inches.

Winter Storm, Central Interior Cumberland

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Central Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. A mesoscale band of snow set up just south of the foothills of western Maine and was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 16 inches.

Winter Storm, Androscoggin

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. A mesoscale band of snow set up just south of the foothills of western Maine and was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 16 inches.

Winter Storm, Kennebec

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. A mesoscale band of snow set up just south of the foothills of western Maine and was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 12 to 15 inches.

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. The Midcoast remained just south of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 12 inches.

Winter Storm, Sagadahoc

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. The northern reaches of Casco Bay remained just on the southern end of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 10 to 14 inches.

Winter Storm, Coastal Cumberland

When
January 22, 8:00 PM EST to January 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. Casco Bay remained just on the southern end of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 9 to 13 inches.

Winter Storm, Interior Waldo

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. A mesoscale band of snow set up just south of the foothills of western Maine and was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 10 to 14 inches.

Winter Storm, Coastal Waldo

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. The Midcoast remained just south of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 10 to 14 inches.

Winter Storm, Knox

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began during the evening of the 22nd. Snowfall became moderate at times during the morning of the 23rd. The Midcoast remained just south of a mesoscale band of snow that was nearly stationary through the day. Snowfall had a high snow to liquid ratio, and fell at an inch per hour at times. Light snow continued into the evening on the 23rd. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 10 inches.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1069621, 1069624, 1069636, 1069622, 1069623, 1069626, 1069627, 1069628, 1069629, 1069633, 1069634, 1069635, 1069630, 1069631, 1069632.