A weak frontal boundary sagging south from Canada was the focus for isolated convection during the mid to late afternoon hours on the 14th. One of these cells became severe producing large hail and damaging winds.
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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 GYX wrote it up.
A weak frontal boundary sagging south from Canada was the focus for isolated convection during the mid to late afternoon hours on the 14th. One of these cells became severe producing large hail and damaging winds.
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 Jul 14, 1:57 PM EST, 54 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 257 PM EDT SAT JUL 14 2012 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND TONIGHT. A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE WEST ON SUNDAY AND THEN MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL MOVE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER NEW ENGLAND FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... A WEAK BOUNDARY SLIDING SOUTH ACROSS NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND MAY PROVIDE ENOUGH FOCUS FOR SOME ISOLATED CONVECTION TONIGHT. OTHERWISE...WARM AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVERNIGHT. MOS GUIDANCE IS ONLY HINTING AT SOME ISOLATED PATCHES OF FOG...SO WILL LEAVE IT MOSTLY OUT OF THE FORECAST TONIGHT. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE AS ONLY A FEW LOCATIONS SAW ANY APPRECIABLE FOG THIS MORNING. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE RATHER WARM WITH 50S OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND 60S ELSEWHERE. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE ENTRENCHED OVER THE REGION FOR THE START OF THE PERIOD. AN OPEN WAVE ALOFT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS FEATURE LOOKS RATHER ROBUST WITH GOOD DYNAMICS AND SHOULD PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR SOME ORGANIZED CONVECTION. MODELS SEEM TO BE A BIT SLOWER WITH THIS FEATURE AND BRING IT THROUGH DURING THE OVERNIGHT RATHER THAN THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS TOMORROW. OBVIOUSLY...WITH THE FOCUS A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY FROM MAX HEATING...THUNDERSTORM DYNAMICS WILL NOT BE QUITE AS STRONG AS ORIGINALLY EXPECTED. STILL...WE COULD SEE SOME DECENT STORMS DURING THE EARLY EVENING HOURS TOMORROW. WILL HOLD OFF ON ENHANCED WORDING FOR NOW. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... WEAK SHORT WAVE CROSSES THE REGION MONDAY...ALLOWING FOR SCT SHOWERS DURING THE MIDDAY THROUGH AFTN HOURS. INSTABILITY IS LIMITED...HWVR WILL ADD THE PSBLTY OF A TSTM AS WELL. HIGHEST POPS ONCE AGAIN WILL BE UP IN THE MTNS. LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT A MORE VIGOROUS COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION. AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES...SHOWERS AND TSTMS WILL ERUPT OVER THE REGION. IT WILL BE VERY HOT AND HUMID AS WELL. EXPECT THE POSSIBILITY OF STG WINDS AND HAIL IN ANY OF THE STRONG STORMS. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES WILL BE VERY HIGH AS WELL...AND SURFACE DEW POINTS WILL BE RUNNING IN THE UPPER 60S TO AROUND 70 DEGS. LOOK FOR SOME OF THE STORMS TO PRODUCE LCLY HVY RNFL DESPITE RELATIVELY FAST MOTION. THEREAFTER...A LARGE CANADIAN HIGH PRES SYSTEM BUILDS SE FROM CANADA. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR MUCH COOLER AND DRIER WX FROM WEDNESDAY ONWARDS. && .AVIATION /19Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... SHORT TERM...MAINLY VFR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. MVFR CIGS/VSBYS IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE COULD BE SOME AREAS OF FOG SUNDAY NIGHT THAT WOULD DROP TAF SITES TO IFR/LIFR FOR A FEW HOURS IN THE MORNING. LONG TERM...CEILINGS IMPROVING TO VFR MONDAY. VFR MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...HWVR AREAS OF MVFR CEILINGS AND VSBY IN THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. HIGH PRES BRINGING IN MUCH DRIER AIR WITH CLEARING SKIES DURING IN THE MID TO LATE WEEK TIMEFRAME. && .MARINE... SHORT TERM...NO FLAGS EXPECTED. LONG TERM...NO FLAGS. HWVR...WINDS MAY BECOME GUSTY OUT AHEAD OF AND BEHIND STG COLD FRONT TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. && .GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...NONE. NH...NONE. MARINE...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 444 AM EDT SAT JUL 14 2012 MEZ007>009-012>014-018>028-NHZ001>010-013-014-150845- NORTHERN OXFORD-NORTHERN FRANKLIN-CENTRAL SOMERSET-SOUTHERN OXFORD- SOUTHERN FRANKLIN-SOUTHERN SOMERSET-INTERIOR YORK- INTERIOR CUMBERLAND-ANDROSCOGGIN-KENNEBEC-INTERIOR WALDO- COASTAL YORK-COASTAL CUMBERLAND-SAGADAHOC-LINCOLN-KNOX-COASTAL WALDO- NORTHERN COOS-SOUTHERN COOS-NORTHERN GRAFTON-NORTHERN CARROLL- SOUTHERN GRAFTON-SOUTHERN CARROLL-SULLIVAN-MERRIMACK-BELKNAP- STRAFFORD-INTERIOR ROCKINGHAM-COASTAL ROCKINGHAM- 444 AM EDT SAT JUL 14 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MAINE...CENTRAL NEW HAMPSHIRE...NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ANZ150>154-150845- STONINGTON ME TO PORT CLYDE ME OUT TO 25 NM-PENOBSCOT BAY- PORT CLYDE ME TO CAPE ELIZABETH ME OUT TO 25 NM-CASCO BAY- CAPE ELIZABETH ME TO MERRIMACK RIVER MA OUT TO 25 NM- 444 AM EDT SAT JUL 14 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CASCO BAY...PENOBSCOT BAY...THE COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE ELIZABETH ME TO MERRIMACK RIVER MA...THE COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT CLYDE ME TO CAPE ELIZABETH ME AND THE COASTAL WATERS FROM STONINGTON ME TO PORT CLYDE ME. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:51 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A severe thunderstorm downed trees on Main Street between Pittsfield and Burnham.
A severe thunderstorm downed trees on Crawford Road near Pittsfield.
A severe thunderstorm produced 1 inch hail in Burnham.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, July 2012
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: 400391, 400392, 400389.