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Warm, muggy air sat over the Northeast for most of this week.
While temperatures were not unusually high, the dewpoints were. Dewpoint temperatures in the upper 60s °F made for very sticky air and also meant that there was plenty of available moisture in the air for rainfall.
An approaching cold front was the trigger for a potent line of Thunderstorms that moved through the Portland area at around 2:30pm. This line of storms resulted in the highest rain rate yet recorded at WeatherMaine in South Portland.
The rain rate at 3:00pm was an amazing 12.52" per hour. In just 10 minutes, WeatherMaine's rain sensor recorded 0.40" of rain! Below is the matrix of the rainfall rates and 10-minute totals for this event.
|
Time
|
10min Rainfall
|
Rain Rate
(in/hr) |
|
2:40pm
|
0.02"
|
0.53
|
|
2:50pm
|
0.11"
|
6.26
|
|
3:00pm
|
0.40"
|
12.52
|
|
3:20pm
|
0.01"
|
0.35
|
|
3:30pm
|
0.00"
|
0.05
|
|
3:40pm
|
0.01"
|
0.05
|
In addition, a new record was set in Portland during this event:
...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT PORTLAND...
A RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.63 INCHES WAS SET AT THE PORTLAND
INTERNATIONAL JETPORT YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.42
SET IN 1991.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
700 PM EDT FRI AUG 20 2004
|
..DATE...
|
....MAG....
|
..COUNTY LOCATION...ST..
|
...SOURCE....
|
|
0404 PM
|
FUNNEL CLOUD
|
SANFORD AIRPORT
|
NOT AVBL
|
|
08/13/2004
|
YORK ME
|
SPOTTER
|
A very warm day set in for virtually all of the Northeast.
Although very warm today, we did not break the old record; the record high temperature in Portland for this date is 95°F, set in 1984. Yesterday was similar to today inland, but significantly cooler at the coast. Evidence of the seabreeze yesterday: Sanford had a high temperature some 15 degrees F warmer than Portland's high reading.
NWS PWM ASOS High Temp Today:
92°F
WeatherMaine's High Temp Today:
Sensor 1: 93.6°F
Sensor 2: 91.0 °F
A strong high pressure ridge and off-shore winds helped Portland and other coastal areas of Maine surge into the 80's and 90's. The offshore winds kept the seabreeze at bay; pre-cold front veering of the winds helped to keep the winds offshore Several locations in southern Oxford county in Maine reported wind damage from the first line of thunderstorms that developed in the unstable air ahead of the front, likely due to daytime heating (solar insolation). A second line of storms is likely to follow the first as the Cold Front and associated dynamics approach the area.
Record heat set in for much of Northern New England on the heels of southwest winds.
The morning started with foggy and cool conditions, but the strong Spring sun quickly warmed the temperatures. Both Portland and Bangor shattered their previous high-temperature records by several degrees. Other regional temperatures of note: Fryeburg, 92°F; Harrison, 93°F (unofficial).
| Location | New Record | Old Record |
| Portland | 85°F | 80°F in 1957 |
| Bangor | 85°F | 78°F in 1954 |
The afternoon heating and an approaching cold front primed the air for some decent Thunderstorms. The line of storms looked unimpressive on radar imagery, but the storms quickly grew in intensity as they traversed York and Cumberland counties. WeatherMaine was on the Western Promenade in Portland, Maine to record the oncoming storms to the West of Portland. See the images and movies below!
Slow-motion sequence of Lightning:
634KB WMV
Full-speed sequence of four strikes:
1.5MB WMV
Another day of brutal cold sat over northern New England. Record cold high temperatures were seen over much of the area; the only exception being Northern Maine where extreme cold is more common. Notable records for lowest daily high temperature set today include:
Portland, Maine
1°F (previous record 4°F)
Concord, NH
0°F (previous record 4°F)
Bangor, Maine
-6°F (tied record set in 1965)
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