An ocean scientist described Maine’s recent spate of severe storms as “the new normal,” saying that Mainers should not be surprised by surging seas and inland flooding sparked by climate change.

“We are now living in a world of extremes, and this is the new normal,” Susie Arnold, director of the Center for Climate and Community at the Island Institute said Tuesday.

Arnold’s comments came at a special meeting of the Maine Climate Council called by Gov. Janet Mills following three devastating storms between Dec. 18 and Jan. 13. The council is in the process of updating the state’s four-year climate action plan, which set the goal of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.

Maine Emergency Management Agency Director Pete Rogers provided context to the discussion, recalling other severe storms and near misses in just the last year.

“In less than one month between Dec. 18 and Jan. 13, Maine experienced three unprecedented and devastating storms,” he said. “Looking back over the last 12 months, Maine has had at least three additional disasters and a hurricane that narrowly missed the state. Something has changed.”

In response to the Dec. 18 storm that ravaged inland communities, Mills has asked President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster to help 10 counties recover from the storm that caused an estimated $20 million in damage to roads, bridges, public buildings and utilities in central and western Maine.

And a preliminary damage assessment is underway following the Jan. 10 and Jan. 13 storms that brought historic flooding to the coast and destroyed homes, roads, buildings and docks.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-1st District), who attended the meeting along with Mills, said she and other members of the state’s congressional delegation will find “every federal dollar we can squeeze out” to help cover the damage.

Rogers said “multi-hazard events” that include rain, wind, storm surge, flooding and power outages are now more common than traditional blizzards or high windstorms.

“Homeowners and businesses now need to weigh the consequences of rebuilding in the same location versus building higher and stronger or even relocating,” he said. “Any reconstruction in flood prone and disaster-prone areas needs to be given some serious thought.”

Arnold said the Dec. 18 storm that dumped 5-7 inches of rain in western Maine and brought high winds with gusts over 70 mph is indicative of the types of storms now occurring more frequently in the Northeast.

In addition to being powerful, the storms are coming amid warmer winters when the soil is not frozen and there’s more water in the ground.

Four people died during the Dec. 18 storm that knocked out power to more than 400,000 Mainers, some of whom were without electricity for days.

Then the Jan. 10 storm featured rain, snowmelt and storm surge near high tide. Arnold said it’s classified as a one in five-year event, which means there’s a 20% chance that it will happen each year.

“This will become more often as seas continue to rise,” she said.

Then just three days later, the Jan. 13 storm set a new water level record in Portland when the storm hit during an astronomically high tide on top of rising sea levels in the Gulf of Maine.

“This is a one in 90-year event and it’s what we’ve been warning about,” Arnold said.

By 2050, the sea level along Maine’s coast is predicted to rise 18 inches, she said.

To help describe the damage from the storms across the state, municipal leaders in Stonington, Bethel and Hallowell talked about the impact in their communities.

Stonington Town Manager Kathleen Billings said her town has about 350 lobster boats and the Jan. 10 storm damaged docks, roads and the town’s fire station.

She said one of the lobster cooperative docks had done some work to prepare for powerful storms.

“That storm surge buckled it, you can’t even drive a forklift on it,” she said. “Safety-wise it’s compromised.”

Billings said they’ve got two months before the boats need to head out for lobster season. Previous plans for climate change no longer seem adequate, she said.

“The sea level rise and the climate change is overtaking everything that we have,” she said. “I can fix local roads, but the state needs resources for state roads too. It’s just not going to go away. It’s coming on us faster than what we anticipated.”

Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessie Perkins described roads flooded by multiple rivers and streams and showed an aerial photo that showed that the village was flooded for two days.

The access road to the popular ski resort Sunday River washed out, stranding guests and staff on the mountain for more than 30 hours. Nearby, a landslide went through a building at the Gould Academy Competition Center. She showed photos of deep holes where roads and trails collapsed throughout the area.

During the storm, the local fire department conducted 27 water rescues and two women died when their vehicle was swept away by the Swift River.

“In summary, physical devastation, emotional trauma, fear, outrageous expense, loss of homes, lives and livelihoods, plenty more will be discovered in the spring,” she said.

In Hallowell, the city warned downtown residents and businesses that the Kennebec River would flood, which led to the closing of Water Street for about 24 hours.

“All the businesses with storage areas in the basement, anything down there was destroyed,” said City Manager Gary Lamb. “The water was right up to the ceiling joists. Anything electrical with motors is gone.”