Intense low pressure tracking through the Saint Lawrence River Valley produced strong winds across the region. with gusts of 55 to 65 mph common.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS CAR wrote it up.
Intense low pressure tracking through the Saint Lawrence River Valley produced strong winds across the region. The storm produced sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph...with gusts of 55 to 65 mph common. A gust of 71 mph was reported at Sedgwick Ridge. The highest wind gusts generally occurred near the coast. The winds snapped branches and toppled trees which fell on power lines...contributing to power outages. Approximately 35,000 customers lost power across the region at various times during the storm. The strong winds also damaged several roofs.
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 Nov 29, 3:46 AM EST, 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
346 AM EST SAT NOV 29 2003
.SYNOPSIS...INTENSE LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHEAST
INTO EASTERN QUEBEC AND LABRADOR TODAY AND SUNDAY. A WEAK WAVE OF LOW
PRESSURE WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST SUNDAY NIGHT AND TRACK
ACROSS THE REGION ON MONDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FROM THE
WEST ON TUESDAY WHILE THE LOW SLOWLY EXITS.
DISCUSSION...
SHORT RANGE...TDY THRU SUN: THE SURFACE LOW WILL LIFT THROUGH THE
SAINT LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY TDY...BRINGING A STRONG COLD/OCCLUDED
FRONT ACROSS THE REGION. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG ACROSS THE
AREA AS THE MSL PRES GRAD REMAINS VERY TIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT. WILL
BUFFER THE HIGH WIND WARNING AREA TDY WITH A WIND ADV FOR ZONES 4...
5...6 AND 10.
PRIOR TO THE COLD FRONT ARRIVAL ERLY THIS MORN...RAIN WILL CONTINUE
TO BE LOCALLY HVY. ENOUGH INSTABILITY EXISTS ARND FRONTAL PASSAGE
TIME LATER THIS MORN FOR ISOLD THUNDER. OTHERWISE...RAIN SHOULD TAPER
TO SCT SHOWERS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE FRONT. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL
OCCUR TDY...WITH READINGS THEN FALLING DURING THE AFTERNOON. ENOUGH
COLD AIR WILL WRAP ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON TO ALLOW
LINGERING SHWRS TO TRANSITION TO SNOW SHOWERS W TO E ACROSS THE FA.
WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE SATURDAY NIGHT WHILE THE STORM SYSTEM
LIFTS NORTH THROUGH EASTERN QUEBEC PROVINCE. SOME SNOW SHOWERS WILL
LIKELY BE AROUND ACROSS NORTHWESTERN AREAS EARLY SATURDAY NIGHT...BUT
WILL TAPER OFF BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING WHILE WEAK RIDGING MOVES IN.
SUNDAY WILL BE PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY BUT DRY BETWEEN SYSTEMS.
LONG RANGE...SUN NGT THROUGH FRI: ANOTHER S/WV WILL THEN APPROACH
SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY BRINGING LIGHT SNOW OR SNOW SHOWERS NORTH
AND SOME FLURRIES TO SOUTHERN AREAS. A LIGHT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW IS
LIKELY ACROSS THE N WITH THIS SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST
TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY WHILE HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD IN FROM
THE WEST BRINGING SEASONABLY COOL AND DRY CONDITIONS INTO THE MIDDLE
OF NEXT WEEK. TEMPS COULD MODERATE LATE IN THE WEEK AS THE HIGH SLIPS
SOUTHEAST OF THE REGION AND LOW PRESSURE LIFTS WELL TO OUR NORTHWEST.
MARINE...
WARM ADVECTION IN LOWER LEVELS IS CREATING A VERY STABLE LAYER ACROSS
THE COASTAL WATERS. LATEST OBS AT GOMOOS BUOYS AND 44027 SHOWING
SUSTAINED WINDS AROUND 25 KTS. ETA12 SEEMS TO BE HANDLING WINDS
WELL WITH LAST FEW RUNS SHOWING SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 35 AND 40 KTS
LATER TODAY. AFTER DISCUSSION WITH OPC/GYX HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH
STRONG GALE TODAY. FOR SEAS LATEST OBS A LITTLE BELOW WAVE WATCH
III. WILL STAY A FEW FEET BELOW THE MODEL NUMBERS INTO TONIGHT DUE
TO THE STABLE LAYER...HOWEVER EXPECT SWELL FROM WARMER WATER TO
SOUTH TO MOVE INTO THE COASTAL WATERS LATER TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
AND COMBINE WITH LOCALLY GENERATED WAVES. SO WILL STAY CLOSE TO THE
WAVE MODEL IN THE LONG TERM.
AVIATION...
EXPECT LIFR UNTIL LATER TODAY...THEN IMPROVEMENT TO VFR LATE THIS
AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES TO THE NORTH OF THE
REGION.
.CAR...GALE WARNING FOR THE COASTAL WATERS TODAY AND TONIGHT.
HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY ZONES 11/15>17-29>32.
WIND ADVISORIES 4>6/10.
SHORT RANGE/MARINE/AVIATION: MIGNONE
LONG RANGE: VJNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, November 2003
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: 5331633, 5331634, 5331635, 5331636, 5331637, 5331638, 5331639, 5331640.