Many Aroostook County residents woke up Monday morning to the first snow of the season.
Roughly 2 inches was on the ground by 11 a.m. in Presque Isle.
It was a contrast to Friday and Saturday’s unseasonable warmth, in the mid-60s and even 70s, with just a trace of light rain. Temperatures dipped slightly, into the high 50s, at night.
But winds picked up Saturday night, and on Sunday temperatures plummeted into the 30s.
By Monday morning, snow was falling steadily with about 2 to 4 inches expected for most of The County. The National Weather Service in Caribou issued a region wide winter weather advisory for Monday morning until 8 p.m.
It’s not the earliest first snow in northern Maine. Many residents will remember seeing snow in September, and kids have been known to don Halloween costumes over their winter gear and boots.
Presque Isle resident Phoebe Davenport broke out her shovel for the first time this season on Monday morning.
“I wasn’t quite ready for it, but I don’t suppose we can’t do anything about it, though,” she said.
She had about an inch in her driveway, and though it really didn’t require shoveling, she was enjoying the exercise, she said.
In downtown Presque Isle, vehicles kicked up slush and people in winter coats and hoods walked along sidewalks, some with dogs in tow.
Most places in Aroostook had been poised to break records with no snowfall in October, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
Caribou’s normal snowfall is 1.6 inches for October. Fort Kent’s normal is 1 inch and Presque Isle’s is 1.1 inches.
Presque Isle’s record October snowfall is 10 inches, recorded in 1917. Elsewhere in The County, 1963 was the big year, with record October snowfall at 11.6 in Caribou, 16 inches in Houlton and 13.9 in Fort Kent, according to the weather service.
Forecasters urged motorists to watch for slippery road conditions.
High pressure is predicted to return to the area Tuesday with fair skies and temperatures warming into the mid-40s later in the week.
