PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Marianne Henderson of Presque Isle said last Thursday that it has been more than a month since she allowed her three children to use the dishwasher in her kitchen.
“The kids believe that I am overreacting to the conditions,” she explained. “And maybe I am. But I have been watching that United States Drought Conditions Map a couple of times a week, and we are still in the abnormally dry area, bordering on the moderate drought area. When you have three children who like to take showers twice a day and you need to do dishes three times a day and wash cars and use water for other activities, I get nervous. So I don’t think it is too much to ask them to wash the dishes by hand.”
The monthly climate report for October featured above average temperatures and in most areas below average rainfall, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou. Mark Bloomer, a meteorologist there, said Thursday that temperatures ranged from 1.5 to 3.5 degrees above the average of 46.5 degrees in Caribou, with the largest departures across northern Maine from Houlton north to the St. John Valley.
He said that, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor for Maine, 70 percent of the state, including central, coastal and western parts of Maine, were considered to be in “moderate drought.” A large swath of Aroostook County was considered “abnormally dry,” while the bulk of southern Maine registered as “severe drought.”
A total of 2.54 inches of rain was observed in Caribou in October, which was 99 hundredths of an inch below average. It tied with 2013 as the driest October at Caribou since 2004. At Bangor, a total of 3.20 inches of rain was observed, which was 97 hundredths of an inch below average.
At Caribou, the average monthly temperature of 46.5 degrees was 3.2 degrees above average. It ties with 1946 and 2005 as the 12th warmest October on record, according to the weather service. In Bangor, the average temperature of 48.9 degrees was 1.7 degrees above average, but that did not rank among the top 20 warmest on record.
The meteorologist said that light snow fell during the end of October, but it was wet and did not lead to any accumulation. He added that the outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for November calls for an increased chance of above average temperatures.
Bloomer said that the fall foliage peaked during the first week of October in the St. John Valley, at approximately the 10th of the month in the Caribou and Presque Isle area, and toward the middle of the month along the coast. The peak was approximately a week later than average, he said
