Sunday, 11:15 am:
According to the NWS, on an average, today is the coldest day of this year. Unofficially, I probably could have determined that too. Needless to say, this is what a person envisions when one thinks of Maine winter weather – chilled to the bone. As I write, the temperature is 0 degree Fahrenheit (F.) with a wind chill of -12 (F.). Yesterday during a high gust the wind chill dropped to -38 degrees (F.). Fortunately the wind has diminished significantly today.

My wife is cooking lobster stew. If the reader is unfamiliar with this dish, it is very similar to New England clam chowder except lobster pieces are used instead of clams and seasoned to taste. Occasionally she adds small shrimp to the recipe. It has a distinctive aroma when it is being cooked, and is one of those traditional, and tasty, Maine dishes that are great for cold days, like today. But this isn’t a cooking or culinary blog. Onward!

Last autumn while watching a meteorologist on The Weather Channel, he thought we would have severe weather due to a very low sunspot cycle and the water temperature of the Atlantic Ocean being higher or lower than normal [I forgot which one; sorry!] The TWC expert missed the mark for this winter, at least so far, because it has been unusually warm, except for the last few days, and less snow compared to the last few years. Our winter is not over yet, so it is possible his educated guess might still occur. For my current weather please click here.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station

Temperature: 0 degree (F.)

Barometer: 29.97 and steady

Humidity: 44%

Wind: NW at 12 mph and variable

Wind chill: -12 Degrees (F.) 10 min. average

Visibility: > 3 miles with scattered
High clouds

Precipitation: None

Since midnight:

Low temp: -11 degrees at 6:42 am

High wind: 28 mph at 12:49 am

Low wind chill: -20 (F.) at 12:55 am 10 min. average