How cold is Maine in the winter? (Bangor, Limestone: crime, house)

[ammeremer]

I am thinking of moving to Limestone, and am wondering how cold it is in the winter. I looked at the averages and it looks pretty cold, but am wondering how cold it feels?

[warpedg]

I think it depends on what you consider cold....Ive heard some people say that its much colder in the Minnesota area when winter rolls in then here. Having lived here all my life, Im not a fan of winter but I dont think our winters are anything like they used to be when I was a kid. My parents have pictures of us playing in snow drifts at least 7 feet or so tall....you hardly ever see that here these days. I simply think the worst thing about our winters is the length not the severity of them.

[ammeremer]

i spent a winter in minnesota and it was brutal, i'm glad to hear the winters are not so severe there, i'm from upstate NY so i'm used to long winters, but there's probably more green there with all the pine trees?

[mollysmiles]

I think too if you ease into them instead of landing here in January from the south that makes a big difference! I don't think it's bad...I've never traveled to upstate NY in the winter, but I can say that on the national news, they're colder than we are a good amount of the time!

yes, and Minnesota too!

[BacktoNE]

I've been to Buffalo in the dead of winter...omg!!! A Maine winter looks more like summer when you compare it to way upstate NY. If you have survived that, and Minnesota, you will be fine in Maine. Good luck

[Elcarim]

I have a friend who moved to Houston from Northern Minnesota and is getting the house ready to sell so they can move back. They, too, after only 3 years can't stand the heat and the filth and the crime of the city. Anyway, she tells me it's nothing to have 40 below temps for 20-30 days where they're from. She said the ground goes into deep freeze and takes a long time to thaw and it causes some problems. I don't think those conditions exist in Maine, from anything I've read. So, it could be worse!

Regarding the "feel" of the cold, I can tell you that the week we were in the mid-coast area last March, the temps started in the morning at 15-18 and rose to 30-40 during the day. Even on those mornings, we found it refreshing and crisp, but never uncomfortable. Several times we were in the parking lot loading up the van for the day without our coats on. We could actually breathe for a change. It was so nice. The only time we nearly froze our nubbies off was when we spent an hour playing in the snow in the park in Bangor and got all wet. We just weren't dressed properly. Jeans get wet fast in snow, we learned! Now we know what "snow suits" are for. But, we went back to the inn, showered, changed into dry clothes and were right back out the door to go eat lobster and hang out on the pier watching the waves!!

If we tropically conditioned Texans can handle it, I think anyone can with proper planning and equipping. AND L.L. BEAN!

[ammeremer]

upstate NY is so dreary in the winter, so if Maine looks like summer it will be nice to see sunshine! is it below 0 often? the coldest i experienced in Minnesota was -20

[Toria]

the coldest temperature I've experienced in Maine was minus 22 degrees; that was back in the early 1990's. I even took a photo of the themometer for posterity. We had a stretch of almost two weeks where the temperatures never went above 10 degrees. And , that was not factoring in wind chill, which can make a Maine winter day pretty brutal when the wind blows hard.

Elcarim....not to discourage you, but March is much more pleasant than January and even February...January is the coldest month in Maine, and with the short amount of daylight, it can often seem like a very lonnnggg month .

[warpedg]

Originally Posted by Toria

but March is much more pleasant than January and even February...January is the coldest month in Maine, and with the short amount of daylight, it can often seem like a very lonnnggg month .

I agree...I always think the worst part of winter in Maine is the second week in January to about the second week or so in March...that first week or two after Christmas Im still hopped up on eggnog and sugar cookies so I dont notice the weather that much then. If you can get through that period you should be fine. The other thing I do is lots of window shopping around the the end of February because then stores are already starting to put out spring items.

[msina]

If you have a hobby, or a craft interest it's nice to plan Holiday gifts around that theme, then you have something fun to do when it is a very cold day, week, month. It's also nice to stock up on simple things to bake and/or cook on those days. It keeps the house warm and toasty and smelling nice. If you have kids simple baking mixes are great to do with them. Put some beans in the crockpot, or a soup on a low fire. It can be (if you make it) a time to bond, and share some interests. If you sew or paint, crochet, knit, a little woodworking maybe, anything that appeals to you, you'll find winter goes quickly.