A shortwave dropping southeast out of southern Quebec combined with moderate instability to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms during the evening of July 22nd. One cell produced reports of wind damage and dime size hail in north central New Hampshire.
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 GYX wrote it up.
A shortwave dropping southeast out of southern Quebec combined with moderate instability to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms during the evening of July 22nd. One cell produced reports of wind damage and dime size hail in north central New Hampshire.
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 22, 8:17 PM EST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Gray ME
917 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016
.SYNOPSIS...
Warm and humid air continues to stream into the region this
afternoon and evening ahead of an approaching cold front. The
front will generate showers and thunderstorms across the area this
evening before stalling. It will also provide the focus for some
additional showers and thunderstorms tomorrow. High pressure
builds from the west on Sunday before moving offshore Sunday
night. Another cold front will move across the region on Monday
giving us another chance for showers and thunderstorms. High
pressure returns on Tuesday for the remainder of the forecast
period.
&&
.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/...
915pm Update: Boosted temperatures overnight based on evening
trends as well as GFS LAMP data for the overnight.
Additionally...given inverted V profiles in the low levels...
see some potential for damaging winds at least for the next few
hours /as seen in current severe storms to the west of the
radar/...but coverage of activity should remain isolated to
scattered.
701pm Update: Continue to pull back on PoPs based on early evening
radar trends...as well as recent runs of the HRRR...which suggest
a weakening trend to southwestern Quebec convection as it pushes
in from the north and west. Current environment proving too
hostile for anything but isolated activity...except over parts of
northern Oxford/Franklin and central Somerset counties. No other
significant changes at this time.
528pm Update: Primary changes this hour are to boost late
afternoon temperatures and lower dewpoints over southern areas
where a hot late afternoon continues. Also...have boosted PoPs in
northern Franklin/central Somerset counties along line of
showers/thunderstorms that have gradually been increasing in
coverage in this area over the past 2 hours. Isolated activity
further south is struggling to compete against dry airmass
evidenced by late afternoon water vapor imagery. Of interest is
next area of moistening /and attendant H5 speed max/ over
southwestern Quebec with associated convection north and west of
Ottawa. Latest renditions of both the operational/experimental
HRRR indicate that as this area reaches northern New England later
this evening...there is some potential for a round of organized
potential over northern zones. Thus...will maintain highest PoPs
in this area...noting however...that instability may become more
of a question by the time this feature arrives.
Previous below...
A warm and humid airmass has taken control of the weather over
northern New England today. While there is currently significant
instability across the region...there remains the absence of any
type of triggering mechanism. That appears as though it will
change as the evening progresses. A disturbance currently moving
through southern Canada is expected to arrive this evening and
give us the convective focus that seem to be lacking. Models have
been doing a good job of handling this. They have done a good job
of picking up on the mid level dry air that has been suppressing
convection. They have also done a good job of picking up on the
convection moving out of southern Canada and into northern Maine.
Once the short wave gets here there should be in the neighborhood
of 2000j/kg of Cape to tap into. The primary threats remain
damaging winds and large hail.
With abundant low level moisture in place...expect to see some
valley fog forming tonight in favored valley locations.
&&
.SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
Weak frontal boundary from today will stall across the region
tonight and will provide some low level convergence to get storms
started tomorrow. While it does not appear that there will be as
much energy to work with tomorrow...the storms could be more
widespread simply because there is a focus area to get them
started. With low level moisture remaining in place...expect to
see some valley fog again in favored locations.
&&
.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
High pressure will build in on Sunday allowing for a fair and drier
day across the region. A warm frontal boundary will approach from
the west on Monday and should allow for the development of at least
scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening
hours. These may continue Monday night into Tuesday before a frontal
boundary moves offshore. Thereafter, there are some signals in model
guidance that low pressure and a decent rainfall may arrive sometime
Friday or Saturday. Low confidence on that at this time, however we
will continue to watch for some much needed rainfall.
&&
.AVIATION /01Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
Short Term...
Summary: A series of cold fronts will drop south through the
region through Saturday night...bringing the potential for showers
and thunderstorms...particularly on Saturday afternoon.
Restrictions: VFR all locations attm. HIE has the greatest
potential to see shra/tsra activity this evening...but expect that
most of the terminals will remain dry through the night. There is
the potential for LIFR/IFR fog RKD/LEB/HIE after midnight...with
confidence in this occurrence now a bit lower given the lack of
much rainfall this afternoon. For the day on Saturday...expect
scattered showers/thunderstorms to develop over the mountains by
late morning and through the afternoon...with activity spreading
south and east during the afternoon. This will have the potential to
bring localized IFR/MVFR restrictions. Fog will again be possible
Saturday night...particularly at LEB/HIE.
Winds: Westerly winds will become southwest and diminish to 5kts or
less for the overnight before becoming west northwesterly and
increasing to 10g18kts for the day on Saturday. Winds will
increasingly become northwesterly Saturday night and diminish to
less than 10kts.
LLWS: No threat through Saturday night.
Thunder: Isolated thunderstorms will be possible for LEB/HIE and
possibly points south and east overnight...but recent trends suggest
that south of HIE...activity will be very limited through tonight.
More widespread shower and thunderstorm activity is expected for the
afternoon on Saturday...but confidence in coverage is too low to
include in this 24 hour TAF package. This activity will end
Saturday night.
Long Term...Mainly VFR expected Sunday through Monday. However,
showers and thunderstorms may bring scattered lower conditions
Monday afternoon and night. Low probability of some stratus and fog
Monday night into early Tuesday as well.
&&
.MARINE...
Short Term...Onshore swell will keep seas at or above Small Craft
Advisory criteria through tonight. Seas begin to subside enough
tomorrow that an SCA may not be needed. Otherwise...no other flags
expected.
Long Term...Prevailing conditions Sunday through Tuesday should
feature conditions below small craft thresholds. A few thunderstorms
may affect the waters Monday afternoon and night.
&&
.GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ME...None.
NH...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory for hazardous seas until 8 AM EDT
Saturday for ANZ150-152-154.
&&
SYNOPSIS...
NEAR TERM...Arnott
SHORT TERM...
LONG TERM...
AVIATION...Arnott
MARINE...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 1004 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016 MEZ007>009-012>014-018>028-NHZ001>015-240215- 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-CHESHIRE-EASTERN HILLSBOROUGH-INTERIOR ROCKINGHAM- COASTAL ROCKINGHAM-WESTERN AND CENTRAL HILLSBOROUGH- 1004 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MAINE...SOUTH CENTRAL MAINE...SOUTHWEST MAINE...WEST CENTRAL MAINE...WESTERN MAINE...NEW HAMPSHIRE...CENTRAL NEW HAMPSHIRE...NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH 2AM. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE GREATEST THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY AFTERNOON HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE GREATEST THREATS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THROUGH THIS EVENING. ANZ150>154-240215- COASTAL WATERS FROM STONINGTON, ME TO PORT CLYDE, ME OUT 25 NM- PENOBSCOT BAY- COASTAL WATERS FROM PORT CLYDE, ME TO CAPE ELIZABETH, ME OUT 25 NM- CASCO BAY- COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE ELIZABETH, ME TO MERRIMACK RIVER, MA OUT 25 NM- 1004 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE OVER THE WATERS THROUGH 2AM SATURDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE STRONG WIND GUSTS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING SATURDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ARNOTT
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
1104 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0933 PM TSTM WND DMG WESTBROOK 43.68N 70.37W
07/22/2016 CUMBERLAND ME SOCIAL MEDIA
TREE DOWN ON RT 302. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
&&
EVENT NUMBER GYX1602176
ARNOTTPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
1120 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0943 PM TSTM WND DMG FALMOUTH 43.73N 70.24W
07/22/2016 CUMBERLAND ME BROADCAST MEDIA
TREE DOWN ON BROOK ROAD.
&&
EVENT NUMBER GYX1602177
ARNOTTPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
1125 PM EDT FRI JUL 22 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0927 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 ENE BIG BASIN 43.88N 70.54W
07/22/2016 CUMBERLAND ME SOCIAL MEDIA
LARGE TREES DOWN. DAMAGE TO TWO HOUSES.
&&
EVENT NUMBER GYX1602178
ARNOTT<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:24 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A severe thunderstorm downed large branches and dime size hail in Center Conway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Hampshire in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, July 2016
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 651445.