Strong gusty winds developed in advance of and along a powerful cold front crossing the region. with frequent gusts of 50 to 60 mph persisting for several hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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.
Strong gusty winds developed in advance of and along a powerful cold front crossing the region. Sustained south to southeast winds of 25 to 35 mph were common...with frequent gusts of 50 to 60 mph persisting for several hours. An isolated wind gust of 76 mph was reported at an elevated site near the coast with onshore winds.The combination of trees still containing many leaves...antecedent wet soil conditions from previous rains and the prolonged nature of the strong gusty winds contributed to extensive uprooting of trees across the entire region...with many trees also snapped or experiencing serious limb damage. The falling trees and limbs also brought down numerous powerlines contributing to extensive power outages across the entire region. Tens of thousands of customers lost power for varying lengths of time. Falling trees and limbs also disrupted traffic due to debris blocking roads. This was one of the most extensive wind events...in terms of impact...for many areas in recent years.
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 Sep 29, 3:46 AM EST, 9 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
446 AM EDT THU SEP 29 2005
.SYNOPSIS...A POWERFUL COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST
LATER TODAY AND CROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING...BRINGING STRONG
GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS. COOLER HIGH PRESSURE WILL
BUILD IN LATER TONIGHT AND SLIDE SOUTH OF THE REGION ON FRIDAY. THE
HIGH WILL REMAIN TO OUR SOUTH THIS WEEKEND AS WARMER AIR BEGINS TO
MOVE IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST.
&&
.SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY)...
HAVE ISSUED A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA FOR
THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING.
LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE RAPIDLY NORTHEAST FROM THE GREAT LAKES
REGION THIS MORNING AND INTENSIFY AS IT TRACKS NORTHEAST THROUGH
QUEBEC PROVINCE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING PUSHING A
STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REGION. SOUTH WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE
FRONT WILL INCREASE TODAY. EXPECT WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH
THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING WITH SOME HIGHER GUSTS
POSSIBLE IN ANY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AS VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE
CROSSES THE REGION.
THE FRONT WILL MOVE EAST OF THE REGION EARLY THIS EVENING. BEHIND
THE FRONT THE WIND WILL BECOME WEST AND REMAIN GUSTY INTO EARLY THIS
EVENING.
FOR TONIGHT EXPECT PARTIAL CLEARING BEHIND THE FRONT WITH
TEMPERATURES DROPPING INTO THE MID/UPPER 30S NORTH AND UPPER 30S
TO AROUND 40 DOWNEAST BY EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.
HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE AREA ON FRIDAY WITH DRY
CONDITIONS EXPECTED. A WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVING ACROSS THE NORTH
WILL BRING SOME INCREASE IN CLOUDS ACROSS THE NORTHER DURING THE
AFTERNOON HOURS.
&&
.LONG TERM (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...
RIDGE AXIS PROGGED TO LIE ACROSS THE FA FRIDAY EVENING AS A WARM
FRONT LIFTS NW OF THE REGION. XPCT SOME CLOUDINESS TO AFFECT
MAINLY NRN AREAS FRI NGT INTO SAT AS THIS OCCURS BUT THINK ANY
OVERRUNNING PRECIP SHOULD REMAIN N AND NW OF THE AREA ATTM.
OTHWS...AFTER A COOL NGT FRI NGT INTO SAT AM...TEMPS XPCTD TO
REBOUND NICELY ON SAT AS SW FLOW ALOFT AND IN THE LOWER LEVELS
DVLPS AND THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR A RATHER WARM WX PTRN WHCIH
IS XPCTD TO PERSIST INTO AT LEAST ERLY NXT WEEK. JUST MADE SOME
MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO PERIODS 4-6...
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR CONDS ACROSS ALL TAF SITES ERLY THIS AM... XPCT CLDS TO
THICKEN AND LOWER TODAY IN ADVANCE OF STRONG COLD FRONT
APPROACHING FROM THE W. PERIOD OF MVFR AND SOME MDT TO HVY RAIN
LIKELY AT ALL SITES LATER THIS AFTN OR ERLY EVE AS THIS COLD FRONT
SLAMS THRU. IN ADDITION...STRONG AND GUSTY S WNDS WILL DVLP BY
ERLY AFTN AND CONT INTO ERLY EVE. STRONG SPEED SHEAR POSSIBLE AS
WELL AS 925 MB WNDS OF 45 TO 50 KT W/ 850 MB WNDS OF 70-75 KT
PROGGED AND WILL LIKELY INCLUDE SOME LLWS W/ THE 12Z TAF PACKAGE.
FLY IN THE OINTMENT THIS AM IS THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY FOR
SOME LOCALIZED IFR CONDS W/ MOIST SRLY LOW-LEVEL FLOW IN PLACE AND
WILL HAVE TO MONITOR. BHB ABD BGR BREFLY DOWN AROUND 1 K FT AT
LITTLE ERLYR BUT BACK TO VFR NOW...
&&
.MARINE...
EXPECT WINDS TO INCREASE TO GALES THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH BUILDING
SEAS. WINDS WILL DECREASE LATE TONIGHT BUT EXPECT SEAS TO REMAIN
AT SCA LEVELS INTO FRIDAY MORNING/
&&
.CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ME...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029>032 FROM
NOON THURSDAY TO 11 PM THURSDAY.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR ANZ050 FROM NOON THURSDAY TO 11 PM THURSDAY.
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ANZ050 FROM 8 AM THURSDAY TO NOON
THURSDAY.
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ANZ050 FROM 11 PM THURSDAY TO 11 AM
FRIDAY.
&&
SHORT TERM/MARINE...DUDA
LONG TERM/MARINE...KHW
AVIATION...KHWHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 755 AM EDT THU SEP 29 2005 ANZ050-MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029>032-301000- COASTAL WATERS FROM EASTPORT ME TO STONINGTON (DEER ISLE) ME OUT 25 NM-NORTHWEST AROOSTOOK-NORTHEAST AROOSTOOK-NORTHERN SOMERSET- NORTHERN PISCATAQUIS-NORTHERN PENOBSCOT-SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK- CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS-CENTRAL PENOBSCOT-SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT- INTERIOR HANCOCK-CENTRAL WASHINGTON-COASTAL HANCOCK- COASTAL WASHINGTON-SOUTHERN PISCATAQUIS-NORTHERN WASHINGTON- 755 AM EDT THU SEP 29 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE AREA FROM THE WEST LATER TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THIS FRONT WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY OVER EXPOSED AREAS AND HIGHER TERRAIN. SEE THE PRODUCT PWMNPWCAR FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED TO ACCOMPANY THIS FRONT...REACHING THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND FAR EASTERN AREAS BY LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. HOWEVER...A PROLONGED PERIOD OF HEAVY RAINFALL IS NOT EXPECTED SO WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING PROBLEMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. FINALLY...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME POSSIBLY APPROACHING SEVERE LIMITS...WILL ACCOMPANY THIS POTENT COLD FRONT AS IT CROSSES THE REGION. A GALE WARNING IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL WATERS. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE RAPIDLY LATER THIS EVENING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES EAST OF THE REGION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. KHW
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, September 2005
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: 5475202, 5475203, 5475204, 5475205, 5475206, 5475207, 5475208, 5475209, 5475210, 5475211, 5475212, 5475213, 5475214, 5475215, 5475216.