Maine, 1998

Flash Flooding and Flooding in Maine, March 30 to 31, 1998

March 30 to 31, 1998 · NWS GYX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Rapidly melting snow caused by record-breaking warmth combined with rainfall to cause flooding on the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers and their tributaries. Many roads were closed due to the flooding.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

Rapidly melting snow caused by record-breaking warmth combined with rainfall to cause flooding on the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers and their tributaries. Many roads were closed due to the flooding. One drowning death occurred in northern Franklin County when a 39-year old man drove his truck onto a flooded Route 27. The Kennebec River at Skowhegan reached flood flow on the 30th and reached flood stage at Augusta on the 31st. The Androscoggin River at Auburn reached flood stage on the 31st. Both rivers continued to rise through the end of the month and crested in April as the flooding continued.

The radar

The Caribou radar (KCBW), 177 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Southern Somerset

When
March 30, 1:00 AM EST to March 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Southern Somerset forecast zone
Coordinates
45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Franklin

When
March 31, 2:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Franklin County, Countywide
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Oxford

When
March 31, 2:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Oxford County, Countywide
Coordinates
44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Kennebec

When
March 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Kennebec forecast zone
Coordinates
44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Androscoggin

When
March 31, 6:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Androscoggin forecast zone
Coordinates
44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Franklin1998-03-3139MaleIn WaterDirect

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.
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

More

Every storm in Maine in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, March 1998

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: 5655518, 5655515, 5655517, 5655516, 5655514.