Maine, 2023

Winter Storm in Maine, January 25 to 26, 2023

January 25 to 26, 2023 · NWS GYX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

On the 25th a winter storm lifted north through the Ohio River Valley and into the eastern Great Lakes while a weakening high pressure drifted southeast into the Canadian Maritimes. The warm front between the systems separated typical January cold over northern New England from mild air to the south.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
2

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.

On the 25th a winter storm lifted north through the Ohio River Valley and into the eastern Great Lakes while a weakening high pressure drifted southeast into the Canadian Maritimes. The warm front between the systems separated typical January cold over northern New England from mild air to the south. Cold air damming allowed much of the precipitation to start as snow late on the 25th. The winter storm occluded on the 26th, with secondary low pressure forming near New York City and moving towards Boston. This northerly track allowed both warm air aloft and warm marine air to move into much of western Maine. Despite cold air damming remaining in place, after a period of snowfall, precipitation changed to sleet and primarily freezing rain before changing over to rain. Freezing rain was so heavy on the 26th that most of it ran off before having a chance to refreeze. Between 1 and 2 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation fell during the event, and did lead to a few structure collapses after all the recent snowfall.

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 Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 25, 12:47 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 12:47 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 25, 4:15 AM EST, 10 hours 45 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Androscoggin

When
January 25, 3:00 PM EST to January 26, 2:00 AM 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 afternoon on the 25th as a band of light precipitation well ahead of the main precipitation shield. The steady snowfall moved into the Maine Lakes Region during the evening hours on the 25th. Moderate snow continued until just after midnight, when mid level warming allowed sleet and freezing rain to take over as the dominant precipitation types. Eventually precipitation changed over to moderate to heavy rain before coming to an end on the morning of the 26th. The existing and new snowfall absorbed much of the sleet, freezing rain, and rain that fell. Snowfall totals suffered from significant compaction by the time of most reports in the morning, but generally ranged from 4 to 7 inches.

Winter Storm, Central Interior Cumberland

When
January 25, 3:00 PM EST to January 26, 2:00 AM 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 afternoon on the 25th as a band of light precipitation well ahead of the main precipitation shield. The steady snowfall moved into the Maine Lakes Region during the evening hours on the 25th. Moderate snow continued until just after midnight, when mid level warming allowed sleet and freezing rain to take over as the dominant precipitation types. Eventually precipitation changed over to moderate to heavy rain before coming to an end on the morning of the 26th. The existing and new snowfall absorbed much of the sleet, freezing rain, and rain that fell. Snowfall totals suffered from significant compaction by the time of most reports in the morning, but generally ranged from 4 to 7 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1068706, 1068707.