Frigid weather lingers in Aroostook County

Residents of northern Aroostook County saw bone-chilling cold for the second day in a row on Friday , as temperatures dipped into the minus 40’s in some parts of the region and plummeted to an astounding temperature of 50 below zero in Big Black River.

At 7:30 Friday morning a USGS gage recorded negative 50 degrees fahrenheit in Big Black River. The current coldest temperature for Maine was recorded in 1925 in Van Buren and was negative 48 degrees.

Rich Norton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Caribou, said the unofficial temperature in Big Black River will be verified,If confirmed the Big Black River minus 50 degrees would tie New England's coldest on record. The current record for New England was set on December 30, 1933 in Bloomfield, Vermont

“We need the snow to bring the temperatures back up,” Norton said Friday.

Aroostook County once again was the coldest spot in the state. It was minus 48 at Nine Mile Bridge, and a temperature of minus 47 was recorded in Allagash. It was 44 below zero at Clayton Lake and 39 below zero in Presque Isle.

A temperature of 38 below was recorded in Limestone, while it was 37 below zero at the NWS office in Caribou.

Houlton residents saw a temperature of minus 35, while it was minus 28 in Ashland.

It was 20 below zero at Acadia National Park and 15 below zero in Bar Harbor in Hancock County.

In Penobscot County, it was minus 38 in Grindstone and minus 31 in Corrina. Old Town residents saw a temperature of 30 below zero, while it was minus 24 in Bangor, Millinocket and Patten.

It was minus 35 in Danforth in Washington County and minus 28 in Cherryfield. Machias citizens saw temperatures of 25 below zero.

The cold comes from a large, dry air mass that had been lingering in Alaska and northern Canada for a couple of weeks before creeping down into the eastern half of the United States.