August is the month that gives us hope. The humidity drops slightly and the light begins to change to include just a few more shadows in comparison to its direct summertime brightness. The nighttime temperatures also begin to fall into the mid to high 50s. It can be a glorious month, but it can also be downright miserable, just like July was. You really never know what you’re going to get with the month of August in Maine.
There are two times per year when someone might become curious about the weather in a state far, far away from where they’re currently living. In general, those two times would be when it’s extraordinarily cold and snowy or when it’s oppressively hot and humid. With this in mind, I’d guess that a person who’s living in Maine might look to live in Florida during January and a person who lives in Florida might look to live in Maine during July. Obviously, it’s wicked cold in Maine during January and absolutely murderously hot in Florida during July and August. They say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In these cases, yes, the grass is greener. Unless you’re into snow sports and activities, Florida is a more pleasant place to be in January and Maine is a more pleasant place to be in August. As I mentioned above, if everything goes okay, August in Maine can be pretty nice.
If you’ve read my previous post that discussed Maine’s weather in July, you’ll know that the month has the potential of being wretched. Not as bad as Florida, I’m sure, but hot and muggy nonetheless. July in Maine sees average high temperatures of 79° (translated: weeks of daytime temperatures of 90°+ and seriously humid) and low temperatures of 55° (translated: weeks of nighttime temperatures of 65°+ and, again, muggy as all get-out). These temperatures are averages, so all the comfortable days get mixed in with the awful ones.
There’s a marked change in Maine’s weather when August rolls around. August sees average highs of 77° and average lows of 53°. That might not seem like much of a difference from July, but it really is. First, the bugs aren’t nearly as bad in August as they were in July, and second, if you look at September’s temperatures of 69°/44°, you’ll notice the nights are a lot cooler. There also seems to be an overall sense of calm. Without the terrible humidity, life seems easier. Life is easier without those dreaded deer flies too – that’s for sure.
If you’re a summer-in-New-England type of person, August is your time and Maine is your place. If you enjoy camping, I can suggest the coast at the end of the month (Bar Harbor, Acadia, Old Orchard Beach). There will be few people to contend with and you’ll likely need to wear a sweatshirt at night. The end of August was when my family used to camp when I was a kid and I can’t ever remember experiencing discomfort due to the weather.
The only issue I see with August is how arid it can be. In a previous post, I mentioned that we might be in the middle of an unofficial drought here in western Maine. We haven’t seen rain for weeks and our weather forecast doesn’t call for any in the near future. Because we’ve got a shallow well on our property, any type of extended dry season makes me nervous that the water in said well will fall below a useable level and leave Laura and me high and dry. Literally. We’ve certainly experienced this type of weather in the past and all has been fine, so my concern has yet to reach a level of action, whatever that might be. But still, I’m not a fan of long spans of time between rainy days.
All in all, August is a much more comfortable month than July ever has been, is, and ever will be. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t compare to September, when the nighttime temperatures fall into the 40s. I’m looking forward to that with much anticipation.
