I better get on with this post as December is nearly at its end. As I sit here and type, a bitter cold breeze is blowing. What we’re experiencing right now is a far cry from what we experienced at the beginning of the month. This year, December came in like a lamb and will go out like a lion.
Anything can happen during December in Maine. Two years ago, the temperature was nearly 70° on Christmas. Needless to say, we didn’t enjoy a white holiday that year. A few years before that one, the temperature was below 0° on Christmas. So yes, while the final third of December is technically winter, wide variations in temperature and precipitation can exist.
This year, December began just fine. As the month progressed, we experienced a few snowfalls, but they were generally to be expected. I’d say things were pretty average with the temperatures just above normal by a few degrees.
A few days ago, Mother Nature decided to play a joke on us out here in the sticks. She dropped the temps from a balmy 30° to a downright chilly 0°. As I was driving down the road yesterday morning at 7:30, I read my car’s dashboard. It told me the outside air was -4°. It was noticeably cold! If you don’t think there’s a difference between how easily a person can survive and how quickly a person can freeze to death within the range of the two conditions I just described above, I can tell you that you’re wrong. There is a difference and the closer you get to zero, the faster your potential of freezing solid. Cold is a legit threat.
So far, I’d estimate this season’s snowfall to be around 24″. Maybe a bit more. By this point, I’ve lost count of how many storms we’ve had, but there have been a few – an eight incher, a six incher, another six incher, and some minor stragglers. Just this morning, we woke up to approximately six inches of luscious powder that my snow blower didn’t argue with at all. After I cleared the driveway, I returned indoors to tell Laura that, “This snow is what snow blower advertisers use to show off what their machines can do. Perfect fluffy, dry powder. Such an easy job.” It was like the kind of snow a person can walk normally through, without lifting their legs. It was so light that I simply kicked while trudging to the garage and the snow easily puffed away from me. Very good skiing snow, I can imagine.
Basically, December in western Maine can offer a varied experience to begin with, but the closer the days make their way to January, the more fierce the weather usually is. There’s really no way around it. Laura and I have been living in our area since 2013 and we’ve yet to experience a warm January. Just as July is hot and sticky, guaranteed, January is bitter cold and full of snow. If you enjoy skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing, western Maine during December/January/February is where you want to be.
