The warming Gulf of Maine has contributed to Maine's recent hot weather

MAINE PUBLIC • August 11, 2022

The past week has seen near-record heat across northern New England. A daily record high was set in Portland. Concord, New Hampshire hit 90 degrees for a full week. And it all comes amidst the state's ongoing drought. Derek Schroeter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gray, says, “the warm Gulf of Maine is…our buffer in the wintertime from keeping us too cold and also a buffer in the summertime from keeping us getting too hot. But as sea surface temperatures have been running several degrees above normal, that can contribute to the lack of cooling off that we see at nighttime.”