Is This Small Town Really the Hottest Town in Maine?

Maine is known for a lot of things, but high temperatures is not one of them.

In fact, for centuries, Maine has been known as a place where people went to escape the heat.

Between the mid-1800s and early-1900s, wealthy Boston and New York businessmen would send their families on extended summer vacations in Maine.  They would send them to tourist towns like Old Orchard Beach, Bar Harbor, and Greenville.  These vacations would give them a chance to escape the heat and smell of the East Coast's largest cities.

Even though the state is known for being cool, we do have some towns and cities that are warmer than others.

What Maine town has the highest average temperature?  We're pretty sure the answer will surprise you.

The hottest town in Maine

According to A-Z Animals, the hottest town in Maine is Orono.

The website explains that the college town typically sees at least nine days a year where the temperature is at least 90 degrees.

The average summer temperature in Orono is 79 degrees.  For reference, the average summer temperature for the state is only 70 degrees.

In addition to the warm temperatures, the town tends to be very humid in the summer.  This really ramps up the 'ick' factor.

Why is Orono so warm?  Even though it does not suffer from having a lot of large, heat-trapping structures, it is far enough inland that it does not benefit from having any ocean breezes to cool the town.  It is adjacent to the Penobscot River, Stillwater River, and Pushaw Lake, but they do not provide much in the way of cooling.

Where and when was the highest temperature recorded in Maine?

The highest temperature ever recorded in Maine was not in Orono.

The highest temperature ever recorded was 105 degrees.  It was recorded on July 10, 1911, in the small town of North Bridgton.