Strong Wind, Androscoggin
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Androscoggin forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind in Maine, May 3, 2002
Strong, gusty, northwest winds downed limbs onto power lines causing scattered power outages which affected approximately 4300 customers. Peak wind gusts were 45 mph (measured) in Portland and 46 mph (measured) in Sanford.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 14
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.
Strong, gusty, northwest winds downed limbs onto power lines causing scattered power outages which affected approximately 4300 customers. Peak wind gusts were 45 mph (measured) in Portland and 46 mph (measured) in Sanford.
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 May 3, 2:20 AM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 2:20 AM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 320 AM EDT FRI MAY 3 2002 SYNOPSIS...LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN QUEBEC WITH SECONDARY LOW OVER THE GULF OF MAINE THIS MORNING. QUEBEC LOW WILL INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES OUT OVER THE CANADIAN MARITIMES THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION SATURDAY. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY. PUBLIC...WIND WILL BE THE WEATHER STORY TODAY AS STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS DEVELOP IN THE WAKE OF THE DEPARTING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. EXPECT THAT SOLID CLOUD COVER OVER MOUNTAIN ZONES WILL LIMIT MIXING OF LOW LEVEL 30KT WINDS. SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS SHOULD ALLOW 30KT WINDS TO REACH THE SURFACE SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS...SO WILL ISSUE A WIND ADVISORY FOR 25 TO 35 MPH WINDS TODAY. UPPER LOW PASSING OVER MOUNTAIN ZONES COMBINED WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL PROVIDE INSTABILITY FOR SHOWERS. SHOWERS WILL BE LIKELY IN THE UPSLOPE AREAS IN THE MOUNTAINS...AND SCATTERED SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS. WILL OMIT MENTION OF SHOWERS SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MAINE BUT COULD SEE SOME WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS DEVELOP. MOS TEMPERATURES AND POPS LOOK REASONABLE. DRIER AMS MOVES IN TONIGHT WITH CLEARING SKIES AND COOL TEMPERATURES. FAIR WEATHER EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MARINE...WILL CONTINUE GALE WARNING FOR COASTAL WATERS WITH WEST WINDS INCREASING TO 40 KTS TODAY. FCSTID = 7 .GYX... ME...WIND ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY FOR ZONES MEZ012>014...MEZ018>028. NH...WIND ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY FOR ZONES NHZ004>010...NHZ013>014. ANZ150...GALE WARNING. WHEELER
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
14 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong Wind, Coastal Cumberland
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Coastal Waldo
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Coastal Waldo forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Coastal York
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Coastal York forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Interior Cumberland
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Interior Cumberland forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Interior Waldo
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Interior Waldo forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Interior York
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Interior York forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Kennebec
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Kennebec forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Knox
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Knox forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Lincoln
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Sagadahoc
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sagadahoc forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Southern Franklin
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Southern Oxford
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Oxford forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Strong Wind, Southern Somerset
- When
- May 3, 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Somerset forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in Massachusetts, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in New York, May 3, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 3 to 4, 2002
- High Wind in Vermont, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3 to 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 3, 2002
- Strong Wind in New Hampshire, May 3, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in South Dakota, May 3, 2002
- Hail in Texas, May 3, 2002
More
Every storm in Maine in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, May 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: 5298458, 5298459, 5298460, 5298461, 5298462, 5298463, 5298464, 5298465, 5298466, 5298467, 5298468, 5298469, 5298470, 5298471.