DEAR SUN SPOTS: Who does the temperatures, hottest and coldest records? My numbers sometime conflict with the Sun Journal records. I have been recording these numbers since at least 1968.

What was the snowfall for the month of December for either Lewiston or Rumford?

What was the date when Calais had the coldest temperature recently? I think it was 50 below zero. — Henry, Rumford

ANSWER: In the “olden days” (before the Internet), a weather watcher such as Henry called in the numbers; later they were emailed. Now they are retrieved from websites, which also compile those numbers from weather watchers and make them available online.

Sun Spots was very lucky to speak to Tom at the National Weather Service station in Maine, who not only answered your question but supplied some excellent information that will prove useful to many.

To begin with, it is not surprising that your numbers differ from the Sun Journal’s. Temperatures can vary from the top to the bottom of a hill, so the difference between Rumford and Lewiston is to be expected. Tom said he would expect Rumford to be colder.

It’s astonishing how much temperatures can vary even from one side of town to the other. The most extreme divergence Sun Spots witnessed was one night when she left the Sun Journal. It was 18 degrees in downtown Lewiston. Less than 15 miles later on Route 202 north of town, it was 1 degree!

As for the precipitation records, Tom said that those records are no longer kept at the Lewiston station. The weather watching station that had supplied data for about 10 years moved, and the automated site no longer records precipitation, just temperature, humidity and wind.

There is, however, a station at Durham, and Tom provided that precipitation number, which was 22 inches in December.

Tom said Calais has never reached 50 below. He did say that low was reached in Maine at Ninemile Bridge on the Allagash a few years ago, breaking the previous record of 48 below. The lowest temperature Sun Spots found for Calais was 14 below on Jan. 8. She could not find out if that was the national record.

For those interested in weather, there are numerous websites, but most focus on what is happening now or in the future, not the past. Finding archive data is a bit trickier. 

Tom helped out with that. He sent Sun Spots to weather.gov/gyx, which is the website for the NWS Forecast Office for Gray/Portland. From that location, you can track down numerous numbers. (The website is in transition. For now, you need to click the link at the top of the page under headlines: “The Original NWS Gray/Portland Website is Available Here while we Transition to our New Webpages.” This link will take you to www.erh.noaa.gov/gyx/

On the left-hand side of that page, in the long blue column, you can scroll down to the Climate section, which is where you can locate records such as precipitation, although not all records are up to date, so 2013 is not available yet on that chart.

Official weather records still depend on individuals who keep records. Official weather watchers receive training and equipment, although Tom said they are not currently recruiting weather watchers and are, in fact, losing some. At www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/coop/coop.html, you can find a list of all the weather stations past and present that ever were. If you click on one, it will bring up the dates for which that data is available.

Every morning by about 9:30 a.m. Tom and his colleagues put out a weather bulletin showing current and compiled temperature and precipitation data for different stations. To reach that site, go to www.erh.noaa.gov/er/gyx/mesnhs.html, click on “rest of ME & NH (except sw)” in the fifth line under Observations and Summaries. Not every station provides all data (such as Lewiston not including precipitation), but it is very useful if you are interested in weather records.

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