High Wind in Maine, March 3, 2002

Name: High Wind in Maine, March 3, 2002
Start: 2002-03-03T04:00
End: 2002-03-03T16:00
Location: Maine

March 3, 2002 · NWS CAR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong winds associated with an intensifying area of low pressure lifting from the Great Lakes to Quebec Province produced wind gusts in excess of 60 mph along the Downeast coast.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 CAR wrote it up.

Strong winds associated with an intensifying area of low pressure lifting from the Great Lakes to Quebec Province produced wind gusts in excess of 60 mph along the Downeast coast.

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 Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 3, 3:00 AM EST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 3:00 AM EST, 1 hour before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
300 AM EST SUN MAR 3 2002

.CORRECTED...
SENDING CORRECTION FOR TYPOS.

.SYNOPSIS...LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK ACROSS QUEBEC THIS AFTERNOON. THIS LOW
WILL BRING ANOTHER DOSE OF RAIN TO REGION TODAY. PRECIPITATION WILL START
OUT IN THE FORM OF SNOW OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS. A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS
THE PINE TREE STATE TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE STATE
ON MONDAY WITH BLUSTERY WINDS AND MORE SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES.

.DISCUSSION...
COORD W/GYX. WILL STAY THE COURSE AS FAR AS TIMING OF PCPN. LIKE DAYCREW/S
ASSESSMENT ON TIMING. CONSISTENCY THE BEST POLICY. ALL GUID COMING
IN LINE W/INTENSIFYING SFC LOW MOVG INTO QUEBEC. BASED ON LATEST
SATL WV IMAGERY & REGIONAL RDR...HIEST QPF TO ARRIVE BTWN 12-18Z W/APCH OF
WM FNT & THEN PCPN GOES TO SHRA. LARGE AREA OVER MID-ATLC RGN WILL MOVE
ACRS CSTL ME THIS AFTN. WILL NEED TO KP SN IN FOR NRN ZNS THIS MRNG...BUT
MGT TAILOR BK AMTS A TAD BEFORE CHGOVER OCCURS. BUFKIT STILL ADVERTISING
PSBL FZRA FOR BRIEF PD. ATTM...AM NOT PLANNING ON ADDING TO ZNS FOR THIS
MRNG. CAN HANDLE THIS W/A NOWCAST. STG SFC HIGH NOW FURTHER S & E. THIS
WOULD FAVOR QUICKER WARMUP AS IS TAKING PLACE ATTM. SPC HAS CWFA IN GNRL
OUTLOOK FOR TSRA. AM CONSIDERING ADDING TSRA @ LEAST TO CNTL & DOWNEAST ZNS
TDY. STG WAA ALF W/DECENT DIFLUENCE & STG LLVL JET WOULD FAVOR SOME TSRA. CD
FROPA EXPECTED TNGT W/SHRA CHGG OVER TO SHSN BEFORE ENDING LATE. TREMENDOUS
CAA TO ARRIVE OVNGT INTO MON W/CONTD WINDY CONDS. WILL CARRY SHSN NRN & CNTL
ZNS W/PASSAGE OF UPPER TROF & VORT MAX. TEMPS REALLY BOTTOM OUT MON NGT INTO
TUE MRNG W/THE MAV SHOWING BLO ZERO FOR NRN & CNTL AREAS & SINGLE DIGITS FOR
INTERIOR DOWNEAST. WILL USE ETA T1 VALUES TDY. LIKE THE MAV FOR MINS & WILL
LEAN CLOSER TO FWC FOR MAXES ON MON.

FFA CONCERNS: WILL USE AREAL QPF AMTS OF .50 ACRS THE N & .75-1.00
ACRS CNTL & DOWNEAST AREAS. CSTL SITES COULD SEE 1 TO 1.5 IN 12 TO 18
TIME FRAME. WILL KP FFA FLYING WHR IT IS. DON/T REALLY ANTICIPATE ANY
SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS. STREAMS & RIVERS IN THE CAR/S HSA HAVE RECEDED OR
LEVELED OFF FOR THE TIME BEING & ARE WELL BLO FS. HOWEVER...ALL AREA STREAMS
& RIVERS WILL SHOW DRAMATIC RISES THIS AFTN INTO THIS EVNG & SHOULD BE ABLE
TO HANDLE QPF. SOME SMALLER STREAMS LIKE THE MATTAWAMKEAG...NARRAGUAGUS &
DENNYS RIVERS COULD POSE SOME PROBLEMS AS THEY ARE RUNNING HIGH. FURTHER
N...FEEL SNOWPACK WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE RAFL ALLEVIATING MUCH RUNOFF.
NUISANCE PROBLEMS COULD OCCUR. COLDER AIR ARRIVING LATER TNGT WILL HELP
ALLEVIATE ANY FURTHER CONCERNS.

WIND: ETA PEGGING THE DOWNEAST AREAS...ESP THE CST W/HIGH WIND WRNG CRIT.
FURTHER N...SPDS NOT AS HIGH. 925 MB WINDS AT THE CST...80-85 KTS BY 18Z FM
SSW. THIS IS PRETTY CONSISTENT W/WHAT WE WERE SEEING LAST NGT @ THIS TIME.
WILL HOIST WRNG FOR 29-30 & ELECT TO GO W/AN ADV FOR CNTL & INTERIOR
DOWNEAST ZNS. ANY HVY RAFL OR TSRA WILL ALLOW THESE STGR WINDS TO GET
TRANSPORTED TO THE SFC. FURTHER N...DEEPER SN CVR...WILL ALLOW FOR STGR
WINDS TO REMAIN ELEVATED.

.COASTAL WATERS...WILL KP STORM WARNING W/GUSTS TO 60 KT TDY. WE DO FEEL
THIS WILL HAPPEN AS WIND FIELD UNIDIRECTIONAL THRU THE COLUMN. WINDS
COMING DOWN TO GALE FORCE THIS EVNG. WIND SPDS DROP OFF BLO GALES AFT 06Z
W/CD FROPA.

.CAR...FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT FOR ZNS 10-11,15>17,
       29-30.
       HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR ZNS 29-30.
       WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR ZNS 10-11,15>17,31-32.
       STORM WARNING FOR COASTAL WATERS.

JOE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Coastal Washington

When: March 3, 4:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Coastal Washington forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, March 2002

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: 5285249.