An early November warm spell broke weather records across Maine over the weekend. Meteorologists say this is part of a climate change trend.
On Saturday, Augusta and Portland set records for November, with temperatures of 76 and 75 degrees. Portland also set a record on Sunday for November's warmest low temperature, of 59 degrees.
National Weather Service meteorologist Derek Schroeter says the unusual weather is becoming more common as Maine's climate warms. Using a baseball analogy, he thinks of weather events as one at-bat, and climate as a batting average.
"And now, we're setting new high, and new record low temperatures, so the hits are starting to add up, and have an impact on that batting average," he says.
He says the trend is being driven by the quickly warming waters in the Gulf of Maine, among other factors. He says researchers are also trying to better understand how the fast-warming Arctic affects the jet stream.
Schroeter says although a cold snap will be arriving soon, above-average temperatures are predicted again for later this week.
