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Maine is forecast to see moderate temperatures again this winter, but experts say coastal communities should still prepare for intense storms like the ones that devastated the state in January.
National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Cornwell said temperatures throughout the southern part of the state and the midcoast this winter will likely be above normal, and the season will be no wetter or drier than usual.
There will be a weak La Niña, he said, which is a climate pattern that pushes the polar jet stream northward. It’ll keep the cold air near New England, but it won’t greatly affect the weather patterns.
“Even if we expect to be favoring above normal temperatures, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t have impactful cold or snowy events. It’s winter in New England,” Cornwell said.
Despite the mild winter temperatures the past five years, Maine has seen severe winter storms, including a December 2023 storm that flooded inland communities and the back-to-back January storms that obliterated parts of the coastline.
It’s impossible to predict how many storms Maine’s coast will face this year and how intense they’ll be, said Susie Arnold, a senior ocean scientist and the director of the Center for Climate and Community with the Island Institute.
“I wish I had a crystal ball to predict that,” she said.
While storms aren’t getting more frequent, they’re dumping more precipitation, which could mean more flooding, Arnold said. In conjunction with rising sea levels, southeasterly winds and if the storms hit at high tide, the coast could see destruction similar to the aftermath of the January storms.
But, there are ways coastal communities can prepare. Tides are predictable, so Arnold suggested that Mainers get familiar with where their property sits in floodplains. There’s not much anyone can do about immovable infrastructure, but if someone’s property is in a floodplain before a storm, she suggested bringing in lobster traps, securing fuel tanks and anything else that could be washed away in a large storm.
“We know when we’re going to have these huge tides, and if there’s a wind event that’s going to coincide with the predicted really high tide, we can prepare for that in advance and move things out of the way so that we’re not seeing refrigerators floating down the Kennebec,” she said.
Arnold also said it’s important to communicate with people — communities that are connected are better prepared for disasters. She said to check in on friends, family and neighbors before and during storms, and to make sure anyone on Maine’s famous peninsulas are prepared if they’re at risk of being stranded.
