CARIBOU (AP) – Portland wasn’t the only place in Maine to set a record in 2005 for the most precipitation in a year. The year was also the wettest on record in Caribou.

According to the National Weather Service, Caribou had 54.21 inches of precipitation for the year. That was 16.77 inches above normal and more 3 inches above the previous record of 51.11 inches set in 1954.

It was a wet year across all of eastern and northern Maine.

Bangor got 59.14 inches, or about 50 percent more than usual. Millinocket got 62.14 inches, which was about 20 inches above normal. Houlton got 53.12 inches, or 14.49 inches above normal.

It was particularly wet in the fall, when Bangor, Caribou and Houlton all set records for most precipitation during the meteorological fall – defined as the three-month period from September through November.

During that period, Bangor got 24.3 inches, Houlton received 19.67 inches and Caribou recorded 18.46 inches. Bangor got 13.32 inches in October alone.

Portland got 66.45 inches for the year, which broke the previous record by 0.12 inches, set in 1983. Concord, N.H., ended the year with 57.28 inches of precipitation, breaking the old record of 54.33 inches set in 1888.

The year wasn’t just wet, it was also warm.

In Portland, the meteorological autumn tied for being the warmest fall on record.

The rest of Maine also had an exceptionally warm fall.

The fall average temperature in Caribou was 45.2 degrees, making it that city’s sixth-warmest autumn on record. Bangor experienced its fourth-warmest autumn on record, while Houlton had its sixth-warmest on record, according to the National Weather Service.

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