An ice jam developed on the upper reaches of the Mattawamkeag River during the morning of the 19th and persisted into the evening. Flooding in the vicinity of the ice jam temporarily led to the closure of Bancroft Road.
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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.
The episode as NWS CAR wrote it up.
An ice jam developed on the upper reaches of the Mattawamkeag River during the morning of the 19th and persisted into the evening. Flooding in the vicinity of the ice jam temporarily led to the closure of Bancroft Road. Water levels receded during the evening allowing the road to re-open.
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 Mar 19, 5:43 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Caribou ME 643 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure to the north will slide east of the region Wednesday into Thursday. Low pressure will move off the Mid Atlantic coast on Friday, track south of the area Saturday, then lift north into the Maritimes on Sunday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... 6:40AM Update...Areas of patchy and thick fog develop over the forecast region, reducing visibility to a mile or below in locations. Mostly predominant in Downeast, but slowly creeping into northern counties. Use caution if traveling. Updated weather and visibility to account for this. Low cloud deck moves in from the east and well, slowly creeping west. Updated temperatures to match observations. Temperatures at or below freezing, so freezing fog could cause slippery surfaces. Previous Discussion...High pressure lingers to the north this morning, and gradually pushes eastward during the day, as next low pressure system by the Great Lakes moves into Canada on Thursday. Looking at dry conditions today, with mostly clear/partially cloudy skies. This morning there is a stubborn low level stratus deck hanging around Downeast coordinator due to low-level moisture. Warm air advects ahead of low pressure frontal system, leading to temperatures in the mid-40s in the north and high 40s/low-50s in the south. Winds relatively light from the southeast. Tonight, high pressure will be the our east and low pressure to our southwest, causing a moderate pressure gradient and southerly winds. Due to warm air advection, high relative humidity, and relatively light winds, could be some patchy fog development Wednesday night into Thursday morning, which could reduce visibility at times. Moisture moves back in, increasing cloud cover overnight into Thursday. As a result, lows forecast to be in 30s Wednesday night. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Deep layered southerly flow will be in place across the region on Thursday. Lower clouds are expected to stray into the area by daybreak Thursday. The forecast soundings show abundant moisture below 3K ft. Thinking is that this may make it way up toward the Houlton/Presque Isle areas after daybreak. All in all, Thursday is shaping up to be a mainly cloudy day with the best chances for sunny breaks across the far northwest. Afternoon highs Thursday will climb toward the mid 50s across the far north but mid to upper 40s for the Bangor region and the coast. Moisture will continue to increase across the region Thursday night, with increasing rain chances later Thursday night, in advance of the slow moving frontal boundary and upper trough from the west. The approaching 500MB trough closes off by early Friday morning with surface low developing and then lifting northeast. Rain is expected during Friday, gradually changing to snow across the far northwest west by Friday afternoon as colder air moves in behind the low. Afternoon highs on Friday will generally be in the mid 40s. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... Rain will gradually change to snow across northern areas Friday night as moisture continues to wrap westward around the slowly departing low exiting the Maritimes. Some accumulation is possible across northern areas during Friday night. This will all depend on how quickly the system move east and how quickly the colder air can push in before the precipitation winds down later Friday night. Best chances of accumulating snow will be across the higher elevations of the north. There may still be some lingering snow across the far north early Saturday morning, otherwise expect partly sunny skies and highs in the mid 40s to around 50. Saturday night will be partly to mostly cloudy. A stray snow shower is possible across northern areas. Lows Saturday night will range from the low to mid 20s. Sunday will be seasonably cold with partly to mostly sunny skies expected. Another system will bring some snow or rain by early next week. && .AVIATION /12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... NEAR TERM: 6:30AM UPDATE.... KFVE/KCAR/KPQI/KHUL: A period of IFR low stratus clouds move in this morning. Fog/freezing fog develops this morning, reducing visibility at times this morning. VFR conditions for all terminals tonight. Light and variable winds this morning. Then SE winds 5-10 kts Wednesday afternoon. LLWS late Wednesday night. KBGR/KBHB: A period of IFR low stratus clouds move in this morning. Fog/freezing fog develops this morning, which will reduce visibility at times this morning. VFR conditions for all terminals tonight. Light and variable winds. SHORT TERM: Thu...IFR/LIFR cigs in patchy fog early, then MVFR/IFR afternoon. S wind. Thu night through Fri...IFR. Low cigs and rain. E to SE wind early, becoming N late. Fri night...IFR. Rain/snow north and rain south. N to NW wind. Sat...IFR/MVFR north early in snow, otherwise VFR all terminals. W to NW wind. Sun...VFR. W wind. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM: Small Craft Advisory conditions forecast to continue into Thursday night due to winds and high sea heights. Winds from the NE at 10-15 kts this today, then shifting to the SE by tonight. Gusts up to 25 kt possible. Visibility could be reduced due to fog development this morning. Outer waters could see seas from 4-6 ft, and inter-coastals could see seas 3-5 ft. SHORT TERM: Have extended the SCA through Thursday for the outer waters with seas hovering around 5 ft. SCA conditions will be possible Friday night through the weekend. Visibility will be reduced to 1 to 3 NM at times in patchy fog tonight and Thursday, and in rain Thursday nigh through Friday evening. && .HYDROLOGY... Significant snowpack loss has occurred over the past few days. A few inches of snow water equivalent remains, mainly in sheltered wooded areas from the Central Highlands north. An increased period of snowmelt comes Thursday into Friday. Thankfully, the natural flow under river ice is below normal and river rises will remain gradual on the larger rivers, though some smaller streams have risen faster. River ice will continue to undergo weakening through thermal rot. River ice is breaking up in many locations, leading to an elevated risk for ice jam flooding through the next few days. Rivers Downeast are increasingly becoming ice-free. An ice jam was reported on the Aroostook River this morning near the convergence of the St. Croix stream. Water was flowing around the jam and flooding issues were not reported. An ice jam was reported on the Pleasant River at the Pleasant St bridge in Milo. The Pleasant River Road is currently closed due to water on the road. && .EQUIPMENT... The ASOS in Caribou, KCAR, is down until further notice, and current conditions will be unavailable. However, precipitation and temperatures will be manually input into the daily climate reports from a backup sensor. Additionally, the AWOS in Presque Isle, KPQI, is scheduled to be down for scheduled FAA maintenance during the day on Wednesday. && .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT Thursday for ANZ050-051. && Near Term...Brennan Short Term...TWD Long Term...TWD Aviation...Brennan/TWD Marine...Brennan/TWD Hydrology... Equipment...
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Caribou ME 402 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029>032-200815- Northwest Aroostook-Northeast Aroostook-Northern Somerset- Northern Piscataquis-Northern Penobscot-Southeast Aroostook- Central Piscataquis-Central Penobscot-Southern Penobscot- Interior Hancock-Central Washington-Coastal Hancock- Coastal Washington-Southern Piscataquis-Northern Washington- 402 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Central Highlands Maine, Coastal DownEast Maine, Far Eastern Maine, Far Northern Maine, Interior DownEast Maine, North Woods Maine and Penobscot Valley Maine. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. The recent warmth and rainfall has led to rising rivers, which is leading to the break-up of thinning river ice. Localized ice jam flooding is possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Ice jam threat will persist this week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. ANZ050>052-200815- Coastal Waters from Eastport, ME to Schoodic Point, ME out 25 NM- Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME out 25 NM- Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME- 402 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Atlantic Coastal Waters. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Caribou ME 646 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 MEZ002-005-006-011-015>017-029>032-191400- Northeast Aroostook-Northern Penobscot-Southeast Aroostook- Central Penobscot-Southern Penobscot-Interior Hancock- Central Washington-Coastal Hancock-Coastal Washington- Southern Piscataquis-Northern Washington- Including the cities of Presque Isle, Caribou, Van Buren, Mars Hill, Ashland, Millinocket, East Millinocket, Patten, Medway, Houlton, Hodgdon, Sherman, Smyrna Mills, Lincoln, Howland, Springfield, Bangor, Brewer, Orono, Old Town, Amherst, Aurora, Dedham, Eastbrook, Great Pond, Calais, Grand Lake Stream, Wesley, Princeton, Ellsworth, Bar Harbor, Bucksport, Orland, Castine, Eastport, Perry, Machias, Cherryfield, Dover-Foxcroft, Milo, Guilford, Danforth, Vanceboro, and Topsfield 646 AM EDT Wed Mar 19 2025 ...Patchy Dense Fog... Patchy dense fog is expected through 10AM. If traveling, remain alert for rapid changes in visibility and allow extra following distance. In order to make your vehicle more visible to other drivers, turn its headlights on, even during the day. Freezing fog may cause slick areas for untreated roads and overpasses.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An ice jam on the Mattawamkeag River led to flooding which impacted portions of Bancroft Road. The road was temporarily closed due to the flooding. Water levels fell that evening allowing the road to re-open.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, March 2025
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: 1244456.