Maine, 1996

Flooding in Maine, January 19 to 22, 1996

January 19 to 22, 1996 · NWS GYX · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

Heavy rains assosiated with strong south to southeast winds ahead of an intense low pressure center that moved northeast out of the Great Lakes combined with snowmelt caused by unseasonably warm air caused flooding along rivers and streams, washed out roads, and flooded some homes and businesses. Ice jams and the resulting backup of water sent the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Piscataquis Rivers…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$594,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
18

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 rains assosiated with strong south to southeast winds ahead of an intense low pressure center that moved northeast out of the Great Lakes combined with snowmelt caused by unseasonably warm air caused flooding along rivers and streams, washed out roads, and flooded some homes and businesses. Ice jams and the resulting backup of water sent the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Piscataquis Rivers over their banks. A flooding stream injured one man as he was washed down a culvert at the Saddleback Mountain ski resort.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Northern Oxford

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Oxford forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Northern Franklin

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Franklin forecast zone
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Central Somerset

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Central Somerset forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Central Piscataquis

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Central Piscataquis forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Central Penobscot

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Central Penobscot forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern Oxford

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Oxford forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern Franklin

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Franklin forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern Somerset

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Somerset forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern Penobscot

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Penobscot forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Interior Cumberland

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Androscoggin

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Androscoggin forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Kennebec

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Kennebec forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Interior Waldo

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Interior Waldo forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Coastal Cumberland

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Sagadahoc

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Sagadahoc forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Lincoln

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Knox

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Coastal Waldo

When
January 19, 8:00 PM EST to January 22, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Property damage
$33,000
Coordinates
44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Maine in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5556444, 5556445, 5556446, 5556447, 5556448, 5556449, 5556450, 5556451, 5556452, 5556453, 5556454, 5556455, 5556456, 5556457, 5556458, 5556459, 5556460, 5556461.