Pedro Gabriel, 18, a senior at Portland High School, shoots hoops at Deering Oaks on Friday. Sunday is expected to be cooler with highs in the 50s. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
On Saturday, more Christmas decorations started to appear in Portland, while many people wore summer shorts and T-shirts.
Saturday’s high temperatures broke records in several cities, which has been a trend in recent days, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.
In Portland, the high hit 72 degrees, shattering the old Nov. 12 record of 65 degrees set in 2020.
In Lewiston, the high got to 69 degrees. In Augusta, the temperature was 70 at 2 p.m., breaking the old record of 63.
Even in the northern city of Houlton, the temperature got to a balmy 67, breaking the old record of 63.
“It’s certainly above normal, but it’s interesting,” said Stephen Baron, a meteorologist with the weather service. “A lot of these records were just broken two years ago. We’re starting to see this more often.”
The warm conditions came to Maine with the remnants of Hurricane Nicole, which dumped 1.19 inches of rain overnight into Saturday morning, as measured at the Portland International Jetport. When the rain moved out, the high pressure on the back end of that tropical system delivered heat and humidity, Baron said.
Caribou, which has a National Weather Service station, didn’t get the tropical warmth, meteorologist James Sinko said. High temperatures only made it into the 40s. But one hour’s drive south from Caribou, Houlton did receive some of the warm, humid conditions, Sinko said.
Aroostook County received heavy rain with some flash flooding warnings, he said.
Saturday will likely be the last summer-like day, meteorologists forecast. On Sunday and this week, temperatures will return to a more normal mid-November feel of 20s and 30s for the low, and highs in the 40s or 50s.
Some parts of Maine, particularly to the north, will see snow Monday night in higher elevations. “We may see some accumulation,” Sinko said.
The fall has been well above normal temperatures, he said, “but the pattern is switching.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
