PlainHazard

Maine drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 16 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 524 drought records in Maine from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 66 a year since 2000. The costliest was the October 1, 2020 drought ($10.3 million in 2025 dollars). Maine ranks 34th of 51 states and territories by count and 33rd of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Maine, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
5241996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
66average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$21Mas filed
Busiest year
2026115 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Maine?

Maine averages about 66 drought records a year since 2000, 34th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (115). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maine records 170 drought records since 1996, 33rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 33. Maine 170

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Maine have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Sagadahoc County leads Maine: 22 days with a drought record since 1996, 86.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cumberland County has the most drought records (54 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Sagadahoc County 86.6 (22)
  2. Knox County 57.6 (21)
  3. Lincoln County 50.5 (23)
  4. Androscoggin County 44.9 (21)
  5. Waldo County 31.5 (45)
  6. Cumberland County 26.3 (54)
  7. York County 23.2 (46)
  8. Kennebec County 21.9 (19)
  9. Franklin County 14.1 (46)
  10. Oxford County 11.6 (45)
  11. Hancock County 9.5 (28)
  12. Somerset County 6.6 (53)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Maine?

Maine's drought records by month. The busiest month is August (73 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 23 · Feb 23 · Mar 23 · Apr 49 · May 36 · Jun 27 · Jul 27 · Aug 73 · Sep 72 · Oct 67 · Nov 58 · Dec 46 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Maine

Maine: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-10-01 DroughtAndroscoggin County · forecast zone Androscoggin One storm episode: 18 records in 11 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $10M
2020-09-01 DroughtAndroscoggin County · forecast zone Androscoggin One storm episode: 18 records in 11 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $10M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Maine?

Maine's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Maine and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMaineUnited StatesMaine's share
1996-99815,6001.4%
2000s8518,5710.5%
2010s031,4410
2020-2635830,1471.2%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Maine

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtYork County · forecast zone Interior York 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtYork County · forecast zone Coastal York 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtPenobscot County · forecast zone Southern Penobscot 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtPiscataquis County · forecast zone Southern Piscataquis 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtYork County · forecast zone Interior York 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtYork County · forecast zone Coastal York 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtWaldo County · forecast zone Interior Waldo 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtWaldo County · forecast zone Coastal Waldo 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSomerset County · forecast zone Southern Somerset 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSomerset County · forecast zone Central Somerset 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSagadahoc County · forecast zone Sagadahoc 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtOxford County · forecast zone Southern Oxford 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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