PlainHazard

Maine extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 16 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 899 extreme cold records in Maine from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 29 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the October 7, 2020 cold/wind chill in Piscataquis County: 2 deaths and 2 injuries across 2 records. Maine ranks 25th of 51 states and territories by count and 15th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Maine, 1996 to 2026

Cold 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
8991996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
29average
Deaths
22 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
–as filed
Busiest year
1998130 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 extreme cold records common in Maine?

Maine averages about 29 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 25th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1998 (130). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maine records 291 extreme cold records since 1996, 15th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483
  11. 15. Maine 291

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 extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Sagadahoc County leads Maine: 21 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 82.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Aroostook County has the most cold records (137 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 82.7 (22)
  2. Knox County 57.6 (22)
  3. Androscoggin County 49.2 (24)
  4. Lincoln County 46.1 (22)
  5. Waldo County 34.2 (49)
  6. Kennebec County 28.8 (26)
  7. Cumberland County 26.3 (47)
  8. York County 21.2 (43)
  9. Somerset County 16.8 (107)
  10. Franklin County 15.9 (53)
  11. Piscataquis County 14.6 (123)
  12. Oxford County 12.5 (51)

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 the cold season in Maine?

82% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (564 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 564 · Feb 176 · Mar 44 · Apr 0 · May 13 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 2 · Nov 0 · Dec 100 (records).

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

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Maine?

Maine: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-10-07 Cold/Wind ChillPiscataquis County · forecast zone Northern Piscataquis One storm episode: 2 records, 2020-10-07 to 2020-10-08; the totals are the episode's. A low pressure system approaching from Eastern Ontario brought cool, wet conditions to the region. Upper air observations in the region indicated that temperatures at the top of Mt. Katahdin started just above freezing, then dropped just below freezing after the front passed. Winds during this time increased ... 2 2 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

Are extreme cold 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.

Extreme cold: Maine and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMaineUnited StatesMaine's share
1996-992485,5394.5%
2000s45914,7923.1%
2010s11318,1620.6%
2020-267915,3290.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Maine

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWashington County · forecast zone Northern Washington 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPenobscot County · forecast zone Central Penobscot 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPiscataquis County · forecast zone Southern Piscataquis 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPiscataquis County · forecast zone Central Piscataquis 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillAroostook County · forecast zone Southeast Aroostook 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPenobscot County · forecast zone Northern Penobscot 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPiscataquis County · forecast zone Northern Piscataquis 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSomerset County · forecast zone Northern Somerset 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillAroostook County · forecast zone Northeast Aroostook 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillAroostook County · forecast zone Northwest Aroostook 0 0 –
2026-01-23 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSomerset County · forecast zone Central Somerset 0 0 –
2026-01-23 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillFranklin County · forecast zone Northern Franklin 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.

Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Maine

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Maine for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on May 14, 2003.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2003-05-14DR-1468Severe Winter Cold and Frost11

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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