CARIBOU, Maine — A few weather records fell with the temperatures in northern Maine this week.
Among them, a new low was set Friday for any June 15 in recorded history. Tim Duda, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Caribou, said that the low temperature of 37 degrees Friday was one degree below the record of 38 degrees that was set on June 15 in 1997.
The 50-degree high on June 14, also broke the previous record low maximum temperature of 55 degrees, which was set on that date in 1982. Houlton saw a high of 51 degrees, which was a new record low maximum for that area. The previous record of 54 degrees was set in 1982.
In Presque Isle, the low temperature of 32 degrees Friday morning was the third lowest on record and the latest freezing temperature recorded on that date since 1939.
The average temperature so far this June in Caribou has been 55.4 degrees, which is 3 degrees below average and makes it the coolest start to the month since 2004, according to the weather service.
Temperatures also have varied considerably from one spot to another in Maine this month. For instance, at 2 p.m. on June 13, the temperature in Houlton was 64 degrees, while just about 70 miles southwest in Millinocket it was 84 degrees.The NWS attributed the difference to a cold front that moved into southern Aroostook.
Unseasonably low temperatures have rolled through parts of the state this month, contributing to frosts in northern Maine. The temperature in Fort Kent one recent night dropped to 26 degrees.
And there have been wide fluctuations in temperatures on the same day in the same community. A resident in Caribou pointed out that one day this month he saw the mercury rise to 91 degrees during the day and then drop to 37 at night.
The all-time record high temperature in June in Caribou is 96 degrees, which was established in June 1944. That temperature ties for the all-time warmest temperature in Caribou.
On Thursday, temperatures across northern Maine reached only into the 40’s to near 50 degrees in the afternoon, which forecasters said was well below normal for this time of year.
Forecasters said that over the last few weeks in Caribou, the city also has equalled its driest streak on record for this time of year. From May 3 to June 13, Caribou saw only 0.53 inches of rain. The next driest period occurred in June 1980, when only 0.59 inches fell on the area.
