PORTLAND, Maine — Summer of 2023 was one of the wettest on record. Culvers failed due to water runoff. Driveways were washed away, and led to even some communities cut off from civilization.
Frustration mounted as a flash flood in Auburn took out its flagship Riverwalk just days before President Joe Biden made his visit to the city.
This deluge of water that exposed the state's weak infrastructure for handling this weather also exposed what the future of the state can look like in a climate future.
Dr. Sean Birkel with the University of Maine and climatologist with the state told NEWS CENTER Maine in 2022 the average temperature of Maine increased 3 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century.
Dr. Birkel added that while more arid regions of the country will get drier with the increasing temperatures, the northeast will actually get wetter and hotter. The heavier rains combined with increased temperatures could bring intense weather on both ends of the spectrum.
"The climate of the northeast region will get wetter, because of a tendency to more extremes, there is research showing in this warmer climate there may be an increased likelihood of drought or heavy rain," Dr. Birkel said. "As temperatures rise in an increasingly warm season... there's enhanced evaporations so any drought that does happen, the impacts can be intensified."
This is partly why Maine's Climate Council is looking to use funding it got from the federal government to boost the construction and repair of culverts. The state actually got around $35 million to do just that.
Hannah Pingree, director for the Governor's Office of Policy and Innovation, said a lot has progressed under the Climate Council's plans, including its yearly updates to its four year campaign called "Maine Won't Wait."
In this plan, you can see heat pump instillations are exceeding the goals by the state, along with weatherization for homes.
When it comes to things such as electric cars, the state is behind in its goals. Pingree said this is because there needs to be more infrastructure built such as chargers, which makes buyers more confident in an EV purchase.
"More importantly right now is the charging, a lot of people want to feel comfortable," Pingree said.
The goal going forward into the fourth year of the campaign is looking at schools. Pingree said each school is different and it is a big goal to make sure each one is prepared for a climate future. She said they also want to hear from people in the community about where they want to see Maine navigate its climate future.
"It's not something we are doing in a bubble in Augusta we actually want to hear from people," Pingree said.