Drought in Maine, August 1, 2001

Name: Drought in Maine, August 1, 2001
Start: 2001-08-01T00:00
End: 2001-08-01T23:59
Location: Maine

August 1, 2001 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

Below normal rainfall caused drought conditions to worsen across the state during August. For farmers, the corn and hay crops were hardest hit, with some farmers choosing to plow under their corn.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 17

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.

Below normal rainfall caused drought conditions to worsen across the state during August. The drought continued to affect farmers, well owners, and the salmon industry, and kept the fire danger high.For farmers, the corn and hay crops were hardest hit, with some farmers choosing to plow under their corn. The blueberry crop, which was expected to break a record harvest earlier in the year, was expected to provide a lower than normal yield. Many smaller vegetable growers were also hard hit.Reservoir levels continued to be below normal for August. For reservoirs in the Androscoggin and Kennebec basins, storage was 8 and 5.5 percent below normal, respectively. River flows were also at record low levels by the end of the month. The Carrabasset River at North Anson recorded the lowest August flow in the 79 years of record while the Saco River at Conway recorded the lowest flow in 78 years.Some rainfall departures from normal for the period from August 2000 through August 2001 included -20.25 inches at Belfast, -13.51 inches at Bingham, -12.97 inches at Madison, and -12.59 inches at Moosehead.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 7:20 PM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 7:20 PM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
820 PM EDT TUE JUL 31 2001

SYNOPSIS...LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SOUTH OF NOVA SCOTIA WILL MOVE NORTH
TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.  RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN QUEBEC
PROVINCE WILL MOVE SOUTH AND CREST OVER NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
WEDNESDAY.  THE HIGH WILL MOVE SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY.

ZONES...WIDELY SCATTERED DIURNAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
DIMINISHING RAPIDLY OVER THE PAST TWO HOURS.  WILL UPDATE ZONES TO
REMOVE THE MENTION OF EVENING CONVECTION.  CIRRUS ASSOCIATED WITH
OCEAN LOW IS BACKING IN FROM THE EAST OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF
THE FORECAST AREA.  THIS PLUS CONVECTIVE REMNANTS AND CIRRUS
SPILLING OVER UPSTREAM H5 RIDGE SHOULD SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO KEEP
SKIES PARTLY CLOUDY OVERNIGHT.  MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FORECAST LOOKS
TO BE ON TRACK WITH LOWS RANGING FROM THE MID AND UPPER 40S NORTHERN
VALLEYS TO UPPER 50S COAST.  PWMWRKZFP AVAILABLE FOR COORDINATION.

MARINE...4 FT SWELLS FROM OCEAN LOW HAVE REACHED THE PORTLAND BUOY.
NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT.  WILL INCREASE SEAS AND
MENTION SWELLS ON UPDATE.  PWMWRKCWF AVAILABLE FOR COORDINATION.

FCSTID = 7
_
.GYX...
ME...NONE.
NH...NONE.

WHEELER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Androscoggin

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Central Somerset

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Central Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal Cumberland

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal Waldo

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal York

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior Cumberland

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior Waldo

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Interior York

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior York forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kennebec

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Knox

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lincoln

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Franklin

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Oxford

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sagadahoc

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Franklin

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Oxford

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Southern Somerset

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, August 2001

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: 5263257, 5263258, 5263259, 5263260, 5263261, 5263262, 5263263, 5263264, 5263265, 5263266, 5263267, 5263268, 5263269, 5263270, 5263271, 5263272, 5263355.