CLIMATE. Maine lies in the heart of the tem perate zone, yet in climate it ranks as boreal in the northwestern part, and the southeastern part is only• a region of transition into the austral zone—a region of overlapping floras and faunas. The winter is very severe, except in a narrow strip along the coast. The alimmers are never hot. The mean temperature for January is 20° F. and 10° in the north. In July the mean temperature is 65° F. in the north and 70° in the south. There is a wide range of temperatures through the year, the average maxi mum shade temperature of 90° F. occurring all along the coast to Eastport. The anticyclones and north winds of winter bring an average minimum of 20° F. below zero to Eastport and Augusta, while the vicinity of Mount Katandin records an average minimum of 30° below zero. The weather is subject to sudden falls in temperature in short periods because of the frequent. passage of cy clonic and anticyclonic centres and the subjec tion of the State to alternate oceanic and con tinental influences. The southern counties have a growing season of less than six months, and the northern counties of only about five months.
The average annual rainfall for the whole State is 40 inches, very evenly distributed throughout the year. though there is a maximum precipita tion in the late summer and autumn. There is an average annual snowfall at the coast of 60 inches, increasing rapidly to the north and west to over 110 inches. The relative humidity for the whole State is above 70 per cent., though the absolute humidity is rather low, on account of low temperatures. The normal wind direction for .January is northwest, and for July is south west. The State lies in the zone of maximum cyclonic frequency. The cool summers, the lakes, the forests and the rocky seaside attract multi tudes of summer tourists, and the coast and lakes are lined with summer cottages. Some of the resorts, notably Bar Harbor, on the eastern end of Mount Desert (q.v.), are among the most popular of the American summer resorts.
For FLORA and FAUNA, see these paragraphs under UNITED STATES.