See The Coldest Temperature & Biggest Snowfall Ever Recorded in Maine

The snow has been on the ground here in eastern Maine for a couple of days now and the bitter temperatures are beginning to set in. 

Have you had enough of it yet? Didn’t think so. More than likely you’re a Mainer and you know that you’ll quickly get used to it.  After all, winter doesn’t even begin until Tuesday, December 21. 

But as the cold season begins the winds seem to blow that much harder and the temperatures seem to be that much colder, which got us to thinking – what's the coldest temperature and the biggest 24-hour snowfall ever recorded here in Maine? 

So, we did a little diggin’. Not with a snow shovel but with our keyboard. 

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We went to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information for the answers, and what we discovered chilled us to the bone and also made us think twice about becoming snowbirds ourselves. Maybe it is time to join our neighbors who winter on the Florida Gulf Coast. 

So here it is. The absolute lowest temperature ever here in Maine was -50 degrees, and it was recorded by an automated weather station operated by the United States Geological Survey on January 16, 2009, at Big Black River, by the Canadian border in the western part of the state. 

Baby, that’s cold outside. By the way, -50 degrees also matches the lowest temperature ever recorded in both New Hampshire and Vermont as well. 

So now how about the biggest 24-hour snowfall? 

That happened a little closer to home, in Orono, where on December 30, 1962, it snowed 40 inches.   

We’re betting church was called off that Sunday.