Hitting 116 degrees F in normally temperate Portland, Oregon. 105 degrees in Reno in September, just as summer is meant to be waning. And in California's Death Valley National Park, temperatures hit almost 130 degrees in the aptly named Furnace Creek, marking a world record for the hottest September day in history.
2021 and 2022 saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, as across the country extreme heat waves wreaked havoc on communities accustomed to more moderate weather. For many regions, the consequences were grave: in the 2021 Western heatwave, hundreds lost their lives, largely due to a lack of air conditioning, and wildfires ravaged the area.
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Map of the past year's temperatures compared to the 100-year average
While not every county in the nation has experienced such extreme heat, climate change has dramatically changed the heat landscape in nearly every state. Coastal regions and the Southern U.S. are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures, and are also frequently targets of extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Just as all states are not impacted equally by rising temperatures, regions within states have also seen widely different temperature changes over the last decades. Factors such as proximity to urban areas, bodies of water, and mountains can dramatically change the climate of a region. Stacker cited data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Information to identify the counties in Maine with the greatest departure from average temperatures during the period December 2021 to November 2022 compared to the 1901-2000 average. Average temperature over the past year served as a tiebreaker. Additional data on recent average high and low temperatures for each county is also included.
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#16. York County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 47.3 degrees Fahrenheit (2.6 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36.5 F (2.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 58 F (2.5 F above century average)
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#15. Aroostook County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 40.4 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 29.8 F (2.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 51.1 F (2.6 F above century average)
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#14. Franklin County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 41.3 degrees Fahrenheit (2.9 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 30.9 F (2.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 51.7 F (3.2 F above century average)
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#13. Somerset County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 41.5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 31 F (2.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 52.1 F (3.5 F above century average)
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#12. Piscataquis County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3.1 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 30.5 F (2.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 52.4 F (3.6 F above century average)
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#11. Penobscot County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 44.2 degrees Fahrenheit (3.1 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 33.2 F (2.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 55.2 F (3.4 F above century average)
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#10. Cumberland County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 47 degrees Fahrenheit (3.1 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36.5 F (3.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 57.4 F (2.8 F above century average)
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#9. Oxford County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 43.7 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 32.5 F (3.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 54.8 F (3.3 F above century average)
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#8. Waldo County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 46 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36 F (3.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 56 F (3.2 F above century average)
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#7. Hancock County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 46.3 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36.3 F (3.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 56.3 F (3.4 F above century average)
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#6. Knox County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 46.6 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 37.7 F (3.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 55.5 F (2.8 F above century average)
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#5. Androscoggin County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 46.5 degrees Fahrenheit (3.4 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36 F (3.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 57.1 F (3.2 F above century average)
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#4. Sagadahoc County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 47.3 degrees Fahrenheit (3.4 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 37.6 F (3.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 57 F (3.1 F above century average)
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#3. Kennebec County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 46.5 degrees Fahrenheit (3.5 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36 F (3.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 56.9 F (3.4 F above century average)
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#2. Lincoln County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 47 degrees Fahrenheit (3.5 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 37.7 F (3.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 56.4 F (3.1 F above century average)
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#1. Washington County
- Average temperature, Dec. 2021-Nov. 2022: 45.8 degrees Fahrenheit (3.7 F above 1901-2000 average)
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 36.1 F (4.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 55.5 F (3.3 F above century average)
