The first snowfall of any significance in Aroostook County arrived overnight Tuesday morning as the second-latest measurable snowfall on record in Caribou, according to the National Weather Service.
Much of Down East and northern Maine woke up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to a dusting of snow and continuing flurries, and the northern half of the state could end up with 3 inches or more, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
The Caribou NWS station was a day short of breaking the record for the latest measurable snowfall in November, which was Nov. 23, 1994. Based on the records going back to 1939, 61 percent of the time there is at least one inch of snow on the ground on Thanksgiving Day morning, according to the NWS.
The record for the least snowy November in Caribou was in 1960 when 1.5 inches of snow was reported for the whole month, the NWS Caribou office said in a Facebook post.
The NWS issued a winter weather advisory for Presque Isle through the St. John Valley until 9 a.m. Tuesday, urging caution on roads that could be slick, with temperatures around or above freezing.
As of Nov. 15, most of Maine was still in a state of moderate or severe short-term drought, with southern Aroostook being in drought and central Aroostook being considered abnormally dry.
According to the NWS, drier weather with seasonably-chilly temperatures are in store for Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day, with the next weather system over the weekend potentially bringing a chance of rain and snow.
