The northern interior region of Maine is defined as the part of the state that is located between the two Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The climate there is normally drier and colder than in the rest of Maine, having more in common with southern Canada than the northern United States. This region is lightly populated, with a geography characterized by mountains, woods, and lakes. Northern Maine receives the most snowfall and the coldest temperatures to be found in the state, with an average January low of 8 degrees Fahrenheit.
The southern interior region charts a climactic path somewhere between the other two. Like the north and coastal areas, it experiences long, cold winters and short, comfortable summers, including four definite changes of season. Though the calendar says spring starts in March, Maine residents of the southern interior region won't begin to feel it until at least a month later. May brings leaves back to the trees and tolerably warmer temperatures.
As with most coastal areas, the moderating influence of the sea provides for a more temperate and definitely rainier climate. To visitors, it's hard to accept the idea that briskly cold water can be a "moderator," but it certainly is. Large bodies of water, like the Atlantic Ocean, warm up and cool down slower than land, which allows land near it to hang onto summer temperatures longer. Though most hurricanes have long blown themselves out by the time they wander that far north, the beach areas sometimes receive the rainy, windy remnants of these storms.
To break down the state's three regions into numbers, the northern zone has an annual mean temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the southern zone experiences an annual mean of 44 degrees Fahrenheit, and the coastal area reaches 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The southern zone gets slightly more precipitation than the northern zone, and the coastal region gets significantly more rainfall than both other regions. July and August are the "hot" months everywhere, rising into the 70s and 80s, with overnight temperatures dipping back into the 60s. When September arrives, the leaves began to change colors, and Maine is one of the many eastern states known for vibrant fall foliage.
