Maine’s warm winter breaks weather records

PORTLAND – Kevin Thomas has plowed a lot of snow in his 15 years working for the city. During harsh winters, he has driven enough extra hours to find himself buried knee-deep in overtime pay.

This winter, he’s actually had time to spend with his family. That’s because it hasn’t been much of a winter in Maine.

In fact, this winter will go down as warmest on record in Portland, Caribou and Burlington, Vt., the National Weather Service said Friday. Concord, N.H., recorded its second-warmest winter ever.

The mild weather is just fine with Thomas, who has two young daughters. He relishes having enough time to take his family four-wheeling or to the movies instead of driving his massive yellow snowplow.

“This is my personal and professional opinion: I’m tickled to death,” he said.

This winter has been unlike last year, when Portland received 99.3 inches of snow and nearly ran out of places to put the stuff.

Instead, the ground is bare in Portland and less than 2 feet of snow has fallen so far this season. That’s due in large part to average temperatures that were 8 degrees above normal from December to February in Portland, said Tom Hawley of the National Weather Service.

This winter has been the warmest in the 61 years records have been kept at the Portland International Jetport, he said.

That means children accustomed to plenty of snow days have been stuck in school, wishing they were outside riding sleds instead. Ski resorts have cranked up the snow machines to keep their runs covered.

Some ice fishermen have been plain out of luck.

The annual ice-fishing derby at Sebago Lake was canceled because of thin ice, and organizers turned the event from a contest into a raffle. Bud Solari of South Portland, who has been ice fishing in Maine for five decades, won a 16-foot fishing boat without even casting a line.