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December averaged slightly drier than normal, statewide. The combination of dryness over the last 5 months resulted in the 19th driest August-December in the 108-year record.
As noted by the Maine State Climatologist (Dr. Greg Zielinski),
Several coastal storms affected Maine in December and in the process shrunk the areas still under drought and dry conditions to the northernmost parts of the state. Each storm had the greatest impact on central and coastal regions, thus leaving the northern part under long-term dry conditions. Ground water levels in USGS wells in the southern part of the state remained below the median, but the two wells differed in the trend of water levels (one has been rising, the other falling). Interestingly, water levels in the two northern USGS wells were both above median. Essentially, Maine still had some remnant deficiencies from the record-breaking drought of 2001, but the early snows of this winter in the central and southern part of the state were encouraging for the build-up of water storage systems this spring, at least for now.
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