A cold front and upper disturbance crossed the region during the afternoon and evening hours of the 17th. then persisted into the evening.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A cold front and upper disturbance crossed the region during the afternoon and evening hours of the 17th. Severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Maine in advance of the front during the late afternoon hours...then persisted into the evening. The thunderstorms produced damaging winds...along with a brief tornado in the Danforth area. Heavy rain produced localized flash flooding in the Caribou area.
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 Jul 17, 4:17 PM EST, 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 517 PM EDT WED JUL 17 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST THIS EVENING AND CROSSES THE STATE TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BACK ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY AHEAD OF ANOTHER STRONG COLD FRONT FOR LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... UPDATE 1715 EDT: HAVE ADJUSTED POP...WEATHER GRIDS AND TEMPERATURE. THE COLD FRONT WILL CROSS NORTHERN ZONES THIS EVENING WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE PRIMARY THREATS ARE WIND AND HEAVY RAIN THAT COULD PRODUCE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM HYDRO ISSUES. THE HYDRO ISSUES ARE MOST LIKELY IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY WHERE THE STRONGEST STORMS AND PWATS ARE FORECAST. THERE IS AN OUTSIDE RISK OF A TORNADO IN NORTHERN AROOSTOOK AS THE COLD FRONT DRAWS CLOSER LATE THIS AFTERNOON. A LINE HAS ALREADY FORMED IN QUEBEC. THIS LINE WILL PROPAGATE TO THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY EARLY THIS EVENING AND MOVE RAPIDLY ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE THIS EVENING...BEFORE WEAKENING AS IT REACHES INTERIOR DOWN EAST AREAS LATER THIS EVENING AND ENCOUNTERS THE MARINE LAYER THAT HAS KEPT TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S IN PORTIONS OF HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES TODAY. THE STORMS ON THIS LINE COULD GENERATE QUITE A BIT OF WIND DAMAGE AS THEY MOVE SOUTHWARD THIS EVENING. CLOUDINESS WITH THE FRONT AND HIGH DEW POINTS WILL PRODUCE A WARM AND HUMID NIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S. THE FRONT WILL LEAVE THE FORECAST AREA BY LATE TONIGHT AND SET THE REGION UP FOR A DECENT THURSDAY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S FOR BANGOR AND DOWN EAST. UPPER 70S TO NEAR 80 ARE FORECAST IN NORTHERN ZONES. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... A WARM FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHWARD ACROSS THE STATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PERIOD. A COLD FRONT WILL THEN APPROACH FROM THE WEST FRIDAY NIGHT AND MOVE THROUGH THE STATE SATURDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDER DURING THE DAY SATURDAY. WILL BLEND THE NAM12..GFS40..SREF..GEM AND ECMWF FOR POPS AND QPF. TEMPERATURE GRIDS INITIALIZED WITH MOSG25 WILL ADJUST MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURE GRIDS 3 TO 4 DEGREES HIGHER TO CORRECT LOW BIAS. FOR DEW POINT WILL BLEND THE GEM AND ECMWF. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... THE PERIOD WILL BEGIN WITH A UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVING SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH THE REGION WITH BEST CHANCES ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. AS THIS TROUGH MOVES EAST A SURFACE HIGH WILL BEGIN BUILDING EAST. THIS WILL USHER IN COOLER AND DRIER CONDITIONS INTO THE REGION BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. AS WE MOVE INTO MID WEEK EXPECTING THE SURFACE HIGH TO PROGRESS EAST AND MAINE WILL BEGIN TO RECEIVE RETURN FLOW AROUND THE SURFACE HIGH. ANOTHER TROUGH AND SURFACE LOW WILL PROGRESS EAST WITH GENERAL MODEL AGREEMENT. THIS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE CHANCES OF SHOWERS AT THE END OF THE PERIOD. HIGHS WILL BE NEAR NORMAL AND LOWS GENERALLY BELOW NORMAL FOR MOST OF PERIOD. && .AVIATION /21Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... NEAR TERM: LIFR IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING FROM HUL NORTHWARD. TOPS COULD REACH FL400 WITH HAIL AND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH POSSIBLE WITH SEVERE STORMS. TOWARDS BGR AND BHB...THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS SEVERE...BUT A MARINE LAYER MAY PRODUCE IFR VIS AND CIG TONIGHT. IFR VIS IN FOG MAY OCCUR NORTH OF HUL AFTER THE THUNDERSTORMS AND BEFORE THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES LATER IN THE NIGHT TO CLEAR THINGS OUT. ALL AREAS WILL BE VFR THURSDAY. SHORT TERM: EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS FRIDAY AND IFR/MVFR CONDITIONS SATURDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM: SEAS WILL PICK UP TOWARDS 3 FT THIS EVENING IN A SOUTH SWELL AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. FOG IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TONIGHT OVER THE WATERS BUT DISSIPATE THURSDAY AM. CONTINUE TO ADJUST MODEL WINDS DOWN OVER THE VERY STABLE WATERS. SHORT TERM: HAVE BLENDED THE NAM12 AND GFS40 FOR WINDS. WILL ADJUST MODEL BLEND NUMBERS 20 PERCENT LOWER TO ADJUST FOR EXPECTED HIGH BIAS DUE TO BOUNDARY LAYER CONDITIONS OVER COLD SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE. FOR WAVES: A SOUTHERLY FETCH DEVELOPS FROM THE GULF OF MAINE SOUTHWARD TO THE CAROLINA COAST FRIDAY EVENTING AND PERSISTS THROUGH SATURDAY. EXPECT THE PORTION OF THIS FETCH ACROSS GULF OF MAINE TO BE SUPPRESSED DUE TO BOUNDARY LAYER. WILL INITIALIZE WITH NAM/SWAN OUT TO 0000Z SATURDAY THEN TRANSITION TO WNA/4. HAVE LOWERED WAVE HEIGHTS 1 FOOT BELOW MODEL GUIDANCE. EXPECT PRIMARY WAVES FROM SOUTHERLY FETCH INCREASING 5-6 FEET/7-8 SECONDS. SECONDARY LONG PERIOD SOUTHEASTERLY WAVE GROUP 1 FOOT/9 SECONDS. WILL INCLUDE AREAS OF FOG LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY AS DEW POINTS INCREASE. && .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && NEAR TERM...MIGNONE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 351 AM EDT WED JUL 17 2013 MEZ001>006-010-011-015>017-029>032-180800- 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- 351 AM EDT WED JUL 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL MAINE...NORTH CENTRAL MAINE...NORTHERN MAINE...SOUTHEAST MAINE AND WEST CENTRAL MAINE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL BRING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION LATER TODAY AND INTO THIS EVENING. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED MUCH OF NORTHERN AND DOWNEAST MAINE...AWAY FROM THE IMMEDIATE COAST...IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED. ANZ050>052-180800- COASTAL WATERS FROM EASTPORT ME TO SCHOODIC POINT ME OUT 25 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM SCHOODIC POINT ME TO STONINGTON ME OUT 25 NM- INTRACOASTAL WATERS FROM SCHOODIC POINT ME TO STONINGTON ME- 351 AM EDT WED JUL 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED.
The Caribou radar (KCBW), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:21 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Two power lines were toppled near Connor by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
Several trees were toppled on Coffin Road by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph. The time is estimated.
Three trees were toppled on Route 164...between Washburn and Presque Isle...by wind gusts estimated at 60 mph.
Around 30 trees were toppled on Parsons Road...between Presque Isle and Washburn...by wind gusts estimated at 65 mph.
Numerous trees were toppled along Bancroft Road by wind gusts estimated at 65 mph. The time is estimated.
An EF0 tornado...embedded within an area of damaging straight-line winds...briefly touched down destroying a metal shed (DI 1, DOD5). Based on the damage...the tornado winds were estimated at 70 mph.
Wires were brought down along Route 169 in Danforth by wind gusts etimated at 65 mph. The time is estimated.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour produced localized flash flooding in the Caribou area. Running water and debris covered Powers Road. Several inches of water were reported on streets around Caribou...with a culvert partially washed out on York Street.
Numerous trees and power lines were toppled by wind gusts estimated at 65 mph. The time is estimated.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour produced localized flash flooding around Orient. Several roads...including Kelly Brook Road...and camp roads were washed out or damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Maine, 2013Warnings in Maine, July 2013
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: 467582, 467584, 467586, 467589, 467592, 467597, 467598, 467599, 467600, 467616.