Maine, 2023

Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Maine, January 22 to 23, 2023

January 22 to 23, 2023 · NWS CAR · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

then crossed the Gulf of Maine during the 23rd. Snow overspread Downeast areas through the evening of the 22nd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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.

Intensifying low pressure tracked from the Mid-Atlantic coast toward Cape Cod through the night of the 22nd...then crossed the Gulf of Maine during the 23rd. Snow overspread Downeast areas through the evening of the 22nd. Snow...heavy at times with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour...then persisted into the afternoon of the 23rd. Snow ended during the evening. Warning criteria snow accumulations occurred through the morning of the 23rd. Storm total snow accumulations across west-central and interior Downeast areas generally ranged from 7 to 15 inches...with local totals up to 18 inches across interior Downeast areas. Snow accumulations along the Downeast coast generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches. Wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph produced area of blowing and drifting snow.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow, 1 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Penobscot

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Southern Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations generally ranged from 7 to 15 inches...with localized totals up to 18 inches.

Heavy Snow, Interior Hancock

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Interior Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.563, -68.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations generally ranged from 7 to 15 inches...with localized totals up to 18 inches.

Heavy Snow, Central Washington

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Central Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 8 to 14 inches.

Heavy Snow, Northern Washington

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Northern Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 10 to 15 inches.

Heavy Snow, Coastal Hancock

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Coastal Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.563, -68.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 5 to 11 inches.

Heavy Snow, Coastal Washington

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Coastal Washington forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 8 to 12 inches.

Winter Storm, Central Penobscot

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Central Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 6 to 13 inches.

Winter Weather, Southern Piscataquis

When
January 22, 9:00 PM EST to January 23, 9:30 PM EST
Where
Southern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 3 to 7 inches.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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: 1076138, 1076139, 1076140, 1076141, 1076142, 1076143, 1076145, 1076147.