PlainHazard

Maine tornadoes

Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 16 counties with a record

Maine has recorded 136 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 2.8 a year since 2000, with 0 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The deadliest was the August 11, 1954 tornado through Aroostook (1 death in Maine). Maine ranks 40th of 52 states and territories by count and 42nd of 51 per square mile.

Tornadoes in Maine, 1950 to 2025

Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).

  • 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
  • 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
Tornadoes
1361950 to 2025
A year since 2000
2.8average
Deaths
120 injuries
F3/EF3 or stronger
00% of tornadoes
Busiest year
197111 tornadoes

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.

Are tornadoes common in Maine?

Maine averages about 2.8 tornadoes a year since 2000, 40th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1971 (11). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maine records 44 tornadoes since 1950, 42nd of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Florida 701
  2. 2. Oklahoma 658
  3. 3. Mississippi 614
  4. 4. Louisiana 579
  5. 5. Illinois 567
  6. 6. Kansas 564
  7. 7. Iowa 555
  8. 8. Alabama 537
  9. 9. Indiana 492
  10. 10. Maryland 438
  11. 42. Maine 44

Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, 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 tornadoes?

Per square mile, Cumberland County leads Maine: 11 days with a tornado record since 1950, 13.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Aroostook County has the most tornado records (30 since 1950); 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. Cumberland County 13.2 (13)
  2. Kennebec County 12.7 (11)
  3. York County 11.1 (14)
  4. Sagadahoc County 7.9 (2)
  5. Oxford County 7.7 (17)
  6. Androscoggin County 6.4 (4)
  7. Lincoln County 4.4 (2)
  8. Waldo County 4.1 (3)
  9. Aroostook County 3.9 (30)
  10. Penobscot County 3.5 (14)
  11. Somerset County 3.1 (13)
  12. Knox County 2.7 (1)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is tornado season in Maine?

59% of its tornadoes since 1950 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (51 tornadoes).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 11 · Jun 27 · Jul 51 · Aug 29 · Sep 7 · Oct 6 · Nov 5 · Dec 0 (records).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.

What were the deadliest tornadoes in Maine?

Maine: the tornadoes with the most deaths in the state, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateKilledInjured
1954-08-11AroostookF21 mi11

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (state segments: deaths and path inside Maine), 1950-2025; counties are the first four the SPC lists for the segment. SPC severe weather database.

Where have the strongest tornadoes tracked in Maine?

  • F2/EF2
  • F3/EF3
  • F4/EF4
  • F5/EF5
  • no end point filed
19 tornadoes rated 2 or higher drawn from start to end of the whole track (a track that crossed into Maine from another state is drawn in full); 117 rated 0 or 1 are left off the map.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, start and end points of each track; county lines: Census Bureau cartographic boundaries (2017), via us-atlas. SPC severe weather database. Census cartographic boundary files.

The strongest tornadoes in Maine

Maine: the highest-rated tornadoes, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1954-08-11AroostookF21 mi27 yd1
1961-09-15Jonesport · WashingtonF219.1 mi33 yd0
1958-08-15AroostookF217 mi33 yd0
1971-06-30PenobscotF213.3 mi10 yd0
1954-07-07Calais · WaldoF27.6 mi10 yd0
1971-11-07Lincoln · PenobscotF25.1 mi10 yd0
1971-11-07Skowhegan · SomersetF24.1 mi60 yd0
2000-08-09SomersetF23 mi500 yd0
1957-09-16AroostookF22.7 mi50 yd0
1959-08-16PenobscotF22 mi27 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.

The longest tornado paths in Maine

Maine: the longest paths inside the state, 1950-2025
DateTornado and countiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1961-09-15Jonesport · WashingtonF219.1 mi33 yd0
1956-09-14KennebecF118.7 mi17 yd0
1963-07-15SomersetF017.1 mi17 yd0
1958-08-15AroostookF217 mi33 yd0
2009-08-21OxfordEF116.42 mi700 yd0
2001-07-24Penobscot, AroostookF116 mi75 yd0
1971-06-30PenobscotF213.3 mi10 yd0
1962-07-09CumberlandF111.3 mi23 yd0
1994-06-18AroostookF110 mi33 yd0
1960-08-29AroostookF19.7 mi100 yd0

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.

Tornadoes in every Maine county

All 16 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
Maine: tornadoes whose track touched each county since 1950, most first
CountyTornadoesStrongest
Aroostook County30F/EF2
Oxford County17F/EF1
York County14F/EF2
Cumberland County13F/EF1
Penobscot County13F/EF2
Somerset County13F/EF2
Kennebec County11F/EF2
Piscataquis County6F/EF2
Washington County6F/EF2
Androscoggin County4F/EF2
Franklin County4F/EF1
Waldo County3F/EF2
Lincoln County2F/EF1
Sagadahoc County2F/EF1
Hancock County1F/EF1
Knox County1F/EF1

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.

The costliest tornadoes in Maine

Maine: the most damaging tornadoes since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1994-06-18 TornadoSt. Francis To, Aroostook County A tornado (confirmed by WSO Caribou) damaged residences and knocked down numerous trees and power lines along a 35 mile long intermittent path. The tornado was estimated 100 to 300 feet wide. Two St. Francis residents were injured. F1 20 mi x 65 yd 0 2 $995K
2005-11-24 TornadoPhippsburg, Sagadahoc County A pair of waterspouts/tornadoes moved northward from the Gulf of Maine during the early afternoon of Thanksgiving Day. Earlier on that day, light snow had been falling across the area. The waterspouts/tornadoes formed along a warm frontal boundary that was associated with an area of low pressure which was bringing ... F1 3.8 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $378K
2006-09-29 TornadoNorth Berwick, York County An F1 tornado touched down south of Route 9 between North Berwick and Berwick and then traveled across Route 9 and into the town of North Berwick. In North Berwick, it crossed Route 4, then lifted off the ground.A continuous path of damage was observed for about a mile and a half from the initial point of touch down ... F1 1.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $183K
1993-08-02 TornadoYork County A tornado was observed crossing Northeast Pond in western Lebanon. The tornado moved onto the eastern shore, knocking over 100-foot pine trees and damaging two lakeside cottages. The parent thunderstorm also produced damaging straight-line winds and near golfball-sized hail in Lebanon. (This thunderstorm earlier ... F0 0.6 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $102K
1994-07-01 TornadoAroostook County A Weather Service official witnessed an F0 tornado from the Caribou Airport. The roof, doors and siding were blown off of two barns, and a house had a window blown out and a television antenna blown off the roof. F0 3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $100K
1994-06-18 TornadoSouthern Caribou, Aroostook County A tornado (confirmed by WSO Caribou) damaged an amusement park in southern Caribou. The storm then moved south along an intermittent and erratic path, knocking down trees and power lines and damaging vehicles. F1 10 mi x 35 yd 0 0 $100K
1996-07-08 TornadoMonmouth, Kennebec County Strong thunderstorms produced an F-2 tornado with winds estimated to be 130 mph that touched down near the west shore of Cobbosseecontee Lake. The tornado cut a path about 200 yards wide and about 1.5 miles long as it moved across the lake, hitting a point of land and a small island. Numerous tall pines 2 feet in ... F2 1.5 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $28K
1999-08-13 TornadoSweden, Oxford County A late night tornado touched down just east of Little Pond in the town of Sweden at approximately 11:30 pm local time. The tornado crossed Knights Hill Road, passed near Black Mountain Cemetery, crossed Black Mountain Road, and ended near the top of Black Mountain. The damage path from the tornado was about a mile ... F1 1 mi x 167 yd 0 0 $9K

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: August 7, 1986 (tornado, York County); July 14, 1988 (tornado, Androscoggin County).

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

Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Maine?

Maine's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Tornadoes: Maine and the United States by decade
DecadeMaineUnited StatesMaine's share
1950s204,8370.41%
1960s256,8630.36%
1970s258,6330.29%
1980s68,2500.07%
1990s1212,2050.10%
2000s1912,8920.15%
2010s2812,2320.23%
2020-2518,2340.01%

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.

The most recent tornadoes in Maine

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-07-11 TornadoConvene, Cumberland County EF0 4.77 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $2K
2020-07-11 TornadoEast Hiram, Oxford County EF0 0.09 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $2K
2019-08-12 TornadoTopsfield, Washington County EF1 0.21 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2017-08-05 TornadoGolden Ridge, Aroostook County EF1 0.48 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2017-08-05 TornadoMillinocket Arp, Penobscot County EF1 2.53 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
2017-07-01 TornadoOtisfield, Oxford County EF0 2.54 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2017-07-01 TornadoEast Sebago, Cumberland County EF0 3.42 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2017-07-01 TornadoEast Fryeburg, Oxford County EF1 0.32 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2017-07-01 TornadoWest Bridgton, Cumberland County EF1 1.53 mi x 250 yd 0 0 –
2017-07-01 TornadoBridgton, Cumberland County EF1 2.48 mi x 200 yd 0 1 –
2016-07-18 TornadoHanford, Aroostook County EF0 0.07 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2014-07-28 TornadoNorth Hollis, York County EF1 1.71 mi x 80 yd 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 tornadoes in Maine

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Maine for tornadoes, counting its incident type and declarations that name tornado in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on September 9, 2008.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2008-09-09DR-1788Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes3

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

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