15 Years Ago: Maine County Got Largest One-Day Snowfall Total in State’s History

For the second consecutive year, Maine saw a widespread rain and wind weather event in December versus a traditional snow event. Maine has fallen into an unfortunate pattern of destructive fall storms, leaving behind piles of damage.

But for most of Maine's history, snow has been the name of the game in December. According to Stacker, three of the four largest one-day snowfall events in Maine's history all took place in the month of December.

For most native Mainers, there's a belief that the biggest snowfall events in the state's history have taken place in Aroostook County. While the county gets more than its fair share of snow, it has only seen one of Maine's 10 most prolific one-day snowfall events.

The top spot belongs to Franklin County. On December 22 of 2008, Franklin County saw a one-day snowfall total of 41.8 inches. Several towns and cities across the county reported record snowfall, exceeding three feet of snow in a 24-hour period.

That one-day powerhouse storm bested a 46-year record held by Penobscot County. On December 30, 1962, Penobscot County reported a one-day snowfall total of 40 inches. The cleanup before New Year's Eve that year was nearly impossible.

One surprising detail when it comes to Maine's 10 largest one-day snowfall amounts is that no single county in Maine was represented twice. Mother Nature has equally distributed the pain across the state over the years.

While most of Maine's record one-day snowfall amounts are decades old, climatologists believe new records are coming. According to Stacker, winters in Maine are becoming shorter and wetter, but storms are becoming more concentrated and powerful. That is likely to lead to more historic storms with large one-day snowfall amounts.