Flash Flooding in Maine, December 2, 1996

Name: Flash Flooding in Maine, December 2, 1996
Start: 1996-12-02T09:00
End: 1996-12-02T22:00
Location: Maine

December 2, 1996 · NWS GYX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy rain and snowmelt caused rivers and streams to rise rapidly. Roads were flooded with many washouts reported in Franklin and Piscataquis Counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GYX wrote it up.

Heavy rain and snowmelt caused rivers and streams to rise rapidly. Roads were flooded with many washouts reported in Franklin and Piscataquis Counties. Several homes in Piscataquis County had basement flooding.

The radar

The Caribou radar (KCBW), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Piscataquis

When: December 2, 9:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Piscataquis County, Countywide
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Franklin

When: December 2, 10:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Franklin County, Countywide
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Waldo

When: December 2, 12:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Waldo County, Countywide
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, December 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5582677, 5582675, 5582676.