User:Runningonbrains/List of Maine tornadoes

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All tornadoes and possible (unconfirmed) tornadoes in Maine history, by month

This is a list of tornadoes reported in the history of the US state of Maine. While Maine is not known for tornado events, more than 100 tornadoes have affected the state in its recorded history, resulting in at least 48 deaths, 780 injuries, and more than $500 million in damage.

As with most of the Northeastern United States, the number of tornadoes peaks in the summer months; specifically, July and August. They occur most commonly in Hartford County, although since 1950 Litchfield County has recorded the most tornadoes. Since reliable records have been kept, Maine has recorded an average of 1.3 tornadoes per year, ranked 42nd in the United States.

Possible tornadoes also occurred in May 1779, 1839 (two tornadoes), and 1841, but the location and exact date of these are unknown. This list is likely incomplete, as official records date back only to 1950 for tornadoes in the United States.

Pre–1950

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All tornadoes in the history of Maine, by county.

• May 17, 1773: A possible tornado or microburst moved east from New Hampshire to Kittery, destroying a saw mill there. A man died when the storm overturned his boat, but it is unclear which state this occurred in.

• August 1, 1815: A possible tornado about 300 feet (91 m) wide destroyed trees, crops, and fences near St. Albans.

• 1817: A "violent whirlwind" struck Brunswick.

• July 4, 1818: A violent hailstorm accompanied by an apparent tornado struck China, damaging buildings.

• May 17, 1826: A possible tornado downed 700 trees in Kennebunk.

• July, 1845: A possible tornado struck Orono.

• July, 1848: A tornado cut a path 15 miles (24 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide through Ripley, Dexter, and Garland.

• October 16, 1855: A tornado damaged homes in Gorham, moving one house from its foundation, destroying a barm, and damaging some roofs.

• June 15, 1859: A tornado caused significant damage in Embden. It began as a waterspout several hundred feet high over a local pond, then moved into town, destroying several barns and a house. Debris was carried as much as 2 miles (3.2 km) from its origin. Five people were injured.

• July 9, 1860: A tornado affected Otisfield.

• June 3, 1865: A possible tornado affected Scarborough, Gorham, and Westbrook.

• July 26, 1873: A possible tornado swept a train on a rail bridge into the Penobscot River near Milford, killing the engineer.

• July 9, 1885: A tornado destroyed a barn and damaged several others along an 8-mile (13 km) path near Belgrade.

• July 8, 1890: A dozen homes were damaged in Winthrop. Two people were injured, and a woman was killed by a church belfry when it collapsed.

• May 22, 1921: A severe windstorm, likely including one or more tornadoes, hit several towns including Waterville, Portland, and Searsport. In Portland, a shed was blown into the water on Long Island, drowning a man. The worst damage occurred in Searsport from a probable tornado, where three houses and a factory tower were destroyed, and two people were slightly injured by flying debris.

• May 16, 1929: A significant tornado caused $25,000 in damage in the north parts of Portland and Deering, destroying barns and garages.

• September 6, 1931: A farmhouse near Palermo was severely damaged.

1950–1974

• June 6, 1953: An F1 briefly touched down in Dexter, just north of Lake Wassookeag. One person was injured.

• July 7, 1953: An F0 travelled about 1 mile (1.6 km) along the shoreline in South Freeport, causing no damage but injuring one person.

• July 7, 1954: An tornado touched down northeast of St. Stephen, New Brunswick around 2:30 PM, moving southwest. It crossed the St. Croix River into downtown Calais, causing F2 damage and injuring one person. The total path length was 8 miles (13 km) and damage was around $25,000 (1953 USD).

• August 11, 1954: Another F2 tornado touched down later in the year along US Route 1, just north of Connor. One house was thrown into another, killing one person and injuring another. Two barns were also destroyed.

• June 1, 1956: An F1 tornado caused a path of damage approximately 40 feet (12 m) wide and 1 mile (1.6 km) long through Lebanon.

• September 14, 1956: An F1 tornado caused a long 19-mile (31 km) path of damage from Augusta to an area about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-northeast of Washington.

• September 16, 1957: An F2 touched down in a wooded area southeast of Sherman, causing little property damage.

• July 2, 1958: Three tornadoes caused minor damage in three separate parts of the state. The first and longest-tracked tornado, accompanied by large hail almost 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter, touched down around 3pm EDT west of Jonesboro. It moved south for 9 miles (14 km), causing F1 damage before lifting in Jonesport. The second tornado touched down in Wilton Intervale about 15 minutes later, causing little damage. The third tornado, an F1, tracked 3 miles (4.8 km) from Orono to near Old Town.

• July 11, 1958: An F1 tornado caused minor damage in Buxton.

• July 19, 1958: A tornado touched down briefly in Clinton.

• August 8, 1958: A tornado touched down briefly in Alna, causing no damage.

• August 15, 1958: An F2 tornado tracked 17 miles (27 km) due east from St. Froid Lake to the south end of Madawaska Lake southwest of Stockholm.

• August 15, 1959: A tornado injured one person just west of the Canadian border in Aroostook County.

• August 16, 1959: An F2 destroyed a barn in Cardville, followed by a weak F1 tornado near Sidney.

• August 17, 1959: Two more tornadoes touched down this day, one in Newport and one in Amherst which injured one person.

• August 28, 1959: A weak tornado was spotted near Charles A. Chase Jr. Memorial Field in Dover-Foxcroft. No damage was reported.

• August 29, 1960: An F1 tornado touched down in Caribou, travelling east-northeast for 10 miles before lifting in Limestone.

• May 29, 1961: An F0 tornado travelled east-northeast for 5 miles (8 km) near Meddybemps Lake.

• June 13, 1961: An F1 tornado touched down in Stow, travelling 5 miles (8 km) southeast to Lovell.

• June 29, 1961: An F1 tornado touched down near Mud Lake in Sinclair.

• July 18, 1961: An F1 touched down northeast of Presque Isle.

• September 4, 1961: An F2 caused significant damage around Skowhegan along a 1-mile (1.6 km) path.

• September 15, 1961: A tornado touched down on Great Wass Island, moving northeast. Moving 19 miles (31 km), at some points over water as a waterspout, it caused F2 damage to a few structures, dissipating in East Machias. One person was injured.

• July 9, 1962: An F1 tracked 11 miles (18 km) from Sebago across Sebago Lake to Raymond, causing minor damage.

• August 20, 1962: An F2 tracked 10 miles (16 km) from Mayfield to Wellington, unroofing a house and damaging many trees.

• May 14, 1963: An F2 caused little damage to structures outside of Berwick.

• May 19, 1963: A tornado was spotted north of Caribou.

• July 1, 1963: Three brief, unrated tornadoes caused little damage in central Maine. The first touched down south of Bingham, the second west of Abbot, and the third along the Maine Turnpike north of Fairfield.

• July 15, 1963: An F0 tornado skipped due north for 17 miles (27 km) from south of Pittsfield to Ripley, causing little or no damage.

• October 9, 1963: An F1 caused damage in Richmond.

• June 10, 1965: An F1 (some sources say F2) destroyed two barns in Deblois, injuring three people along a 1-mile (1.6 km) path.

• June 21, 1965: A tornado caused minor damage near Peru.

• September 21, 1965: An F1 tornado touched down near Limestone, causing minor damage.

• July 13, 1966: An F1 touched down briefly near Fayette.

• October 10, 1966: An F2 tornado briefly touched down in Sanford.

• June 17, 1967: An F1 caused minor damage near Vienna.

• July 1, 1968: Two tornadoes touched down in south-central Maine. The first, an F1 (some sources say F2) traveled south-southeast for 3 miles (4.8 km) from Randolph to Gardiner. The second, an F1, affected Islesboro Island in Penobscot Bay.

• August 8, 1969: A tornado affected Knox County.

• October 3, 1970: A tornado was reported near Sebago Center, and an F1 moved northeast for 10 miles (16 km) from Pittsfield to near Sebasticook Lake in Newport.

• June 30, 1971: An F2 touched down in the woods west of Stacyville and traveled east through that town, across the Maine Turnpike, and though Sherman, causing significant damage along its 13-mile (21 km) path.

• July 1, 1971: An F1 touched down in farmland northeast of Perham.

• July 31, 1971: Three F2 tornadoes caused significant damage in east-central Maine. The first touched down northwest of Livermore Falls, injuring one person. The second cut a 3-mile (4.8 km) path near Turner. Two trailers were destroyed, with their occupants thrown hundreds of feet away, but no one was killed. The final tornado touched down near Kents Hill.

• August 11, 1971: An F1 passed through West Bridgton, while another touched down in Moscow shortly afterwards.

• October 12, 1971: An F1 touched down very briefly near the Canadian border, north of Fort Kent.

• November 7, 1971: Three F2 tornadoes caused little property damage. The first touched down near Skowhegan. The second touched down near Chester, and the third touched down briefly near Springfield.

• July 10, 1972: An F1 touched down for 1 mile (1.6 km) in the forests at the southern end of Richardson Lake.

• July 24, 1972: An F1 touched down briefly near Long Beach along Sebago Lake.

1975–1999

• August 13, 1976: A waterspout touched down in the harbor of Wells, then moved east across town, destroying homes. Two people were injured when a house was unroofed.

• JUN 18, 1994 11:15 AM 0 dead 2 injured

One or more weak skipping tornadoes traveled from St. Francis to Portage Lake.

2000–present

Aerial photo of a mobile home destroyed by an EF0 tornado in Westfield on May 31, 2009.

• November 24, 2005: Two waterspouts formed over the Gulf of Maine on Thanksgiving Day and moved ashore around 1pm as tornadoes. The first tornado went onshore several times—on the far southern end of the Phippsburg peninsula, then at Hermit Island, and West Point, and moved across the peninsula to near Phippsburg before dissipating. Several homes were heavily damaged, and there was major tree damage across the peninsula. The second tornado made two landfalls south of Brunswick, and was rated F0 based on tree damage.

• September 29, 2006: An F1 tornado touched down in North Berwick. Many trees and vehicles were destroyed, and 40 structures were damaged.

• July 15, 2007: An EF0 crossed Long Lake northeast of Guerette, causing tree damage on the east and west side of the lake. A few cottages were damaged by falling trees.

• May 24, 2009: A tornado, preliminarily rated EF1, caused tree and structure damage in Eagle Lake. No injuries were reported.

• May 31, 2009: Two tornadoes, both preliminarily rated EF0, caused tree and structure damage in the towns of Westfield and Easton, as well as in an unincorporated area east-southeast of Oxbow. One mobile home was completely unroofed and destroyed, but there were no injuries reported.

• June 8, 2011: Two weak tornadoes touched down in Aroostook County in the late afternoon. The first touched down near Stockholm, causing intermittent damage to trees, farm buildings, and homes along a 8.95-mile (14.40 km) path before ending west-northwest of Loring Air Force Base. The second touched down briefly elsewhere in the county, damaging trees.

• June 9, 2011: A brief tornado associated with a squall line touched down in Aroostook County, causing only tree damage.

See also

• Enhanced Fujita Scale
• Fujita scale
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References

Book references

• Grazulis, Thomas P (July). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Ludlum, David McWilliams (1970). Early American Tornadoes 1586–1870. Boston, MA: American Meteorological Society. ISBN 0933876327.

External links

• Maine Tornadoes at Tornado Project
• MODIFYING THE MESOCYCLONE DETECTION ALGORITHM: THE MISSING LAKE COBBOSSEECONTEE MAINE TORNADO (PDF)
• Phippsburg Thanksgiving Tornado pictures
• NYT search