April of 2007 will be remembered for quite a few things. The temperature roller coaster in March heralded the change from above average temperatures to below average temperatures. In fact April of 2007 ended up to be a very snowy and stormy month.
Our snowfall started on the 4th of April, and by midnight we had 6.1", which made it the 4th one of the top 10 snowiest days in Portland for that date. But the storm continued, dropping another 5.5" on the 5th. The storm total snowfall of 11.6" makes it the 5th largest snowfall in April since 1882. April for a month received 15.1" of snow, making it the 7th snowiest month in Portland to date.
But April of 2007 will not be remembered necessarily for the snow, but mostly for the Patriot's Day Storm of 2007. The National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) analyses of the storm show the lowest pressure at 968mb on April 16th at 8am. The lowest pressure of the "Perfect Storm," or the Halloween Storm of 1991, was 972mb on the 30th of October at 8am.
The Patriot's Day Storm of 2007 brought tremendous amounts of water and wind. Some areas over York county received close to 8 inches of rain from the storm, the Portland JetPort received over 5 ½ inches of rain. Winds were a huge issue with this storm, as the saturated ground does little to hold the trees. Winds gusted to 61 mph in Freeport and 59 mph in Portland. Unofficial gusts from Cape Elizabeth measured the wind at 81 mph all while the tremendous amount of rain overwhelmed the culverts and many roads were washed out. At one point, 22 roads within 20 miles of Westbrook were closed, according to the 511 service. Route 302 was completely barricaded near the golf driving range and Dunkin Donuts and National Guard were at numerous other intersections on Route 302 north of the Presumpscot River. Washed out roads meant travel to work was not only dangerous but also impossible for some people. The Crooked River in Naples was so swollen with storm run-off that it actually raised the level of the water on the Sebago side of the Songo Lock so high that the Songo River actually flowed backward. The Songo River carries the water from Long Lake and Brandy Pond toward Sebago Lake, but a lock is needed in the middle to enable boat traffic and to control lake levels. The water normally flows from near the causeway in Naples toward Sebago Lake. But this day the river was actually flowing toward Naples. People in this favored fishing spot indicated that the trout had just been stocked near the confluence of the Crooked and Songo rivers. But since the water was actually flowing the other way with the lock wide open on both ends, it looks like we'll have some good fishing in Long Lake this summer.
Along the coast, the buoys in the Gulf of Maine just 12 miles offshore showed wave heights of 31.5 feet before they stopped transmitting for a time. The big issue that doomed the ocean beachfronts was not just the huge waves, but that they arrived during a time of strong east winds and astronomical high tides. The strong east winds pile the water up along the shore. The astronomical high tides made the tides three feet higher than normal. So the combination of the two were a knock-out punch for numerous homes along the Maine coast.
Numerous navigational buoys were torn from their moorings. The Coast Guard flew extra flights over the Gulf of Maine to transmit the weather information to those who may have been out of VHF range. I suppose to prevent another Andrea Gail. The computer models showed the potential for this storm many days before, so preparations were aided and people had more time to prepare. Governor Baldacci issued a State of Emergency declaration that started at midnight before the storm's main punch arrived. Close to 130,000 customers were without power, and with a 2.3 people per household ratio, that is about 300,000 people in the dark, or about 25% of Maine's population.
Then after all the kerfuffle around the storm, things quieted down for several days. But then the roller coaster we call Spring was back... and Portland broke a record for the warmest April 23rd temperature- a record 81°. The day was also the warmest on average, with the maximum and minimum averaging out to 65°. April 23rd was the warmest day in 7 months in Portland.
The one last thing that people will remember about April of 2007 is the amazing end to the ski season! Sugarloaf got 95 inches of snow in April alone and closed for the season with 20-40" base depth, 112 trails open, 49.64 miles and 558 open acres of skiing. Sunday River and Sugarloaf closed on the 29th of April… I got my last runs of the year in on the 25th- the latest I've ever skied in Maine.
