Maine, 2002

Damaging Wind in Maine, May 31, 2002

May 31, 2002 · NWS CAR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

15 to 20 trees were toppled along the shore of Fourth Musquacook Lake.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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.

15 to 20 trees were toppled along the shore of Fourth Musquacook Lake.

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 May 31, 3:35 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 3:35 PM EST, 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
435 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002

.UPDATE...
UPDATED FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALL ZONES UNTIL 10 PM EDT.

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION FROM THE WEST THIS EVENING. THE
FRONT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY SOME SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THEN
DRIER AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA OVERNIGHT. A SECONDARY COLD FRONT WILL
MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATER SATURDAY. HIGHER PRESSURE WITH COOLER AND DRIER
AIR WILL FOLLOW FOR SUNDAY.

.DISCUSSION...
COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING EAST THROUGH QUEBEC PROVINCE WILL CROSS THE
REGION EARLY TONIGHT. EXPECT SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH
THE EVENING HOURS THEN DRIER AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT
OVERNIGHT.

A SECONDARY COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE WEST ON SATURDAY.
WITH STEEPENING LAPSE RATES AGAIN EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONT. MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL FOLLOW THE
PASSAGE OF THE FRONT FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.

LOOKING TOWARD THE BEGINNING NEXT WEEK HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE
REGION MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE
AREA LATER THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS.

LEANED WITH AVN MOS NUMBERS THROUGH THE PERIOD.

COASTAL WATERS...
WILL MAINTAIN SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS OF 20 TO 25 KT TONIGHT THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT.

.CAR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10 PM ZONES 1>6/10-11/15>17/29>32
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY.

TD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 31, 3:22 PM EST, 58 minutes before
MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029-030-ANZ050-ANZ070-010200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
422 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF NORTHERN AND
   EASTERN MAINE UNTIL 10 PM EDT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH FOR ALL OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:

AROOSTOOK...NORTHERN SOMERSET...PISCATAQUIS...PENOBSCOT...HANCOCK
AND WASHINGTON AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS FOR THE POTENTIAL OF LARGE HAIL
AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS TO ACCOMPANY ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

FITZSIMMONS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Piscataquis

When
May 31, 4:20 PM EST
Where
Piscataquis County, 37 mi NE of Chesuncook
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates
46.450, -68.867

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

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: 5296320.