PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 13, 2025
New England winters are warming. And that warming is happening faster here than in most of the rest of the nation, according to new data from Climate Central. Presque Isle, a small city of 8,700 on Maine’s eastern border with Canada, is at the forefront of that winter warming trend. The average temperature in Presque Isle from December through February is about 6.5 degrees warmer now than it was in 1970. Also monitored were Portland and Bangor, which have temperature increases of 5.5 and 4.1 degrees, respectively. The national average is 3.9 degrees. Our coldest days aren’t as cold and our deep freezes aren’t lasting as long, said Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist. The state’s climate plan spells out the consequences: strained water supplies, impassable logging roads and a decline in the snowfall that drives the region’s winter tourism. “Winter is starting to lose its cool,” aid Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley.