Drought in Maine, May 1 to 31, 2026

Name: Drought in Maine, May 1 to 31, 2026
Start: 2026-05-01T00:00
End: 2026-05-31T23:59
Location: Maine

May 1 to 31, 2026 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

Significant short-term drought relief was observed across Maine in May 2026, highlighted by a mid-May soaking rain that markedly improved drought categories in the mountains and foothills. 2%.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 17

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GYX wrote it up.

Significant short-term drought relief was observed across Maine in May 2026, highlighted by a mid-May soaking rain that markedly improved drought categories in the mountains and foothills. In the single week ending May 19, the state's Severe Drought (D2) coverage fell from 11% to 2.2%. While this spring precipitation effectively mitigated immediate agricultural and hydrological impacts replenishing topsoil moisture, restoring streamflows, and bringing surface water storage like lakes and reservoirs back to near-normal seasonal baselines long-term deficits endure. Deep groundwater aquifers are slower to react, leaving deep water table levels substantially below historical averages due to these ongoing groundwater deficits.

What forecasters said that day

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 Apr 30, 6:52 PM EST, 5 hours 8 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

1. Near to slightly below normal temperatures expected for Friday and Saturday with intermittent chances for showers. 2. Seasonable temperatures warm late this weekend into early next week. Rain chances remain concentrated on Sunday and towards the middle of next week.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 6:52 PM EST, 5 hours 8 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Gray ME
752 PM EDT Thu Apr 30 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Have trended for increased chances of rain Sunday, mainly for
the coast and portions of the interior.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
1. Near to slightly below normal temperatures expected for Friday
and Saturday with intermittent chances for showers.

2. Seasonable temperatures warm late this weekend into early
next week. Rain chances remain concentrated on Sunday and
towards the middle of next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1 DESCRIPTION...
Dreary conditions continue the rest of today with a cold front
lurking just to our west. Ahead of this front, the HRRR is pretty
consistent in showing the current batch of rain continuing to
advance to the northeast, generally expected to move out of the
area by sunset. There may then be period of drizzle, but
overnight looks mostly dry with just a few showers possible.
Between now and 00Z/8PM this evening, this activity may result
in additional rainfall amounts of 0.25" to 0.50" across western
ME with the higher amounts toward the Kennebec Valley and
Midcoast. Outside of precipitation, patchy fog is possible, but
chances of this should come to an end as the boundary level
becomes a bit drier and better mixed later this evening and
tonight behind the front. Not sure how mixed we'll end up being,
but W-NW winds may get a bit breezy with gusts to around
20-25mph, per RAP and HRRR forecast soundings.

Drier conditions are expected Friday, but a slow-moving 500mb low
will still reside north of the Great Lakes and will continue to send
waves of energy and broad lift through the area. While the
atmosphere is only marginally conducive for a few showers in the
afternoon, but there should still be enough moisture and MUCAPE
for a diurnal cu field. Highs will be mostly in the upper 50s
to lower 60s, which is near to slightly below normal. Northwest
winds could be breezy at times with gusts of 20-25 mph, possibly
up to 30 mph in the morning. This should be enough to hold off
or to delay the seabreeze to bring these warm temperatures to
the coast.

Today's 12Z HRRR and 3km NAM are showing an area of showers
approaching from the west around sunset and then gradually moving
into NH and western ME later in the evening overnight. The latest
NBM is starting to latch onto this, and the 20-30% will do for now,
but these might have be nudged upward if the trends in the CAMs
hold. Currently lows are forecast to be in the 30s, which may result
in patchy frost, but more clouds with the showers holding together
would keep temperatures a little warmer.

The same upper low will not have moved much from Friday into
Saturday, but as waves aloft pass by, shower development looks more
favorable as overall moisture and instability looks higher than that
of Friday. This should also result in more clouds and hold temps a
couple of degrees cooler than Friday. The gradient will also be
weaker to allow the seabreeze at the coast.

KEY MESSAGE 2 DESCRIPTION...
Low pressure will be exiting the Carolina coast Saturday night,
moving north-northeast offshore. While the current track keeps
the center of the low well to the east, its moisture field
broadens and will come in proximity to the coast and coastal
waters. NBM trend has been to bring measurable precip into the
coast and interior Sunday. For lows that are more compact and
travel a bit further off the coast, dry air typically funnels in
on the western periphery due to NW continental air mass,
creating a sharp edge to precipitation. This is still a
possibility, but guidance moisture profiles are humid. This
encourages leaving showers in the forecast at this time. Did
narrow the spread of measurable precip to the coast and portions
of the interior.

As a result, Sunday will feature mainly overcast skies with
increasing north to northwest winds through the afternoon. High
temperatures may be the coolest for the following few days, as
highs climb into the mid 50s before pushing into the 60s and
even lower 70s early next week.

The second chance for widespread rain comes midweek as low
pressure occludes south of Hudson Bay. As the main low lags,
cut off from an intensifying lower jet from Texas to the
Northeast, triple point low pressure may develop in vicinity of
the St Lawrence River and continue NE. This could introduce a
brief warm sector to northern New England, but more importantly
it signals moisture transport could become more parallel to
frontal forcing along the approaching cold front. The slowing
front then becomes a focal point for this water vapor transport
to fall out as precipitation. Timing and location of of the
front varies widely at this time, but would look towards the
middle to second half of the week for impacts on the forecast
area.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Through Friday...IFR and lower conditions continue to slowly
improve to MVFR across the area. In general I opted for a blend
of guidance to balance the faster clearing of the HRRR and the
slower clearing of the statistical models. The overall theme
will be improvement though, with VFR conditions returning to
terminals by morning. I cannot rule out a stray shower
overnight, but generally dry conditions expected. Fri afternoon
may see winds get briefly gusty, with west northwest surface
gusts of 20 to 25 kt possible.

Outlook...

Friday night: MVFR ceilings possible along with a chance of
showers.

Saturday: MVFR cigs possible in the morning. A few showers possible
during the day along with a seabreeze/wind shift for coastal
terminals.

Saturday Night: Clouds thicken and lower with MVFR possible. IFR
bases possible near the coast along with some fog. SHRA for
coastal terminals, uncertain if these make it towards AUG/CON.

Sunday: MVFR ceilings continue through the morning with SHRA.
Gradual improvement towards VFR SW to NE into the early evening
hours.

Sunday Night: Mainly VFR, valley fog possible.

Monday and Tuesday: Some restrictions possible as SHRA again
push into the region. These are most likely for terminals in the
western half of the forecast area.

&&

.MARINE...
Through Saturday...SCA conditions continue over the coastal
waters through Friday evening, mainly due to seas staying
elevated. A cold front crosses the waters this evening and
tonight with winds shifting to west to northwest. High pressure
becomes centered south of the waters Friday into Saturday with
seas subsiding through Saturday.

Winds become northeast Saturday night as low pressure passes
just outside the Gulf of Maine through Sunday. Winds and waves
will remain below SCA criteria through much of Monday, until low
level winds increase from the SW Monday night through Tuesday.
This could bring a period of Gales and increasing wave heights to
the waters Tuesday through the middle of next week.

&&

.GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ME...None.
NH...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT Friday for ANZ150-152>154.
     Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for ANZ151.

&&

DISCUSSION...Combs/Cornwell
AVIATION...Legro

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:58 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Gray ME
1158 PM EDT Thu Apr 30 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1157 PM     Rain             1 NW Auburn             44.11N 70.24W
04/30/2026  M1.26 Inch       Androscoggin       ME   Trained Spotter

&&

Legro

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Androscoggin

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of Androscoggin County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was entirely eliminated (0%), leaving 98% in Moderate Drought (D1) and 2% in Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions. May rainfall averaged 5.30 inches, well above normal by 1.79 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 11th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 8 inches.

Drought, Coastal Cumberland

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of Cumberland County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May the severe drought had been reduced to less than 1% (0.94%), with 97% Moderate Drought (D1) and 3% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 6.32 inches, well above normal by 2.80 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 11-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 11th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 8 inches.

Drought, Interior Cumberland Highlands

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior Cumberland Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Franklin

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 26% of Franklin County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was completely cleared (0%), with conditions improving to 32% Moderate Drought (D1) and 68% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 5.11 inches, well above normal by 1.42 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 11-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 10th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 7 inches.

Drought, Southern Franklin

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kennebec

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of Kennebec County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was entirely removed (0%), transitioning to 16% Moderate Drought (D1) and 84% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 4.75 inches, above normal by 1.25 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 11th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 7 inches.

Drought, Knox

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 85% of Knox County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was completely cleared (0%), leaving only 6% in Moderate Drought (D1) and 94% in Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions. May rainfall averaged 6.11 inches, well above normal by 2.47 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 10-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 7th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit around 10 inches.

Drought, Lincoln

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of Lincoln County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May all drought designations were lifted, leaving 100% of the county merely Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 6.03 inches, well above normal by 2.51 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 9th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 8 inches.

Drought, Northern Oxford

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 58% of Oxford County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was completely resolved (0%), with 58% remaining in Moderate Drought (D1) and 42% in Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 5.36 inches, well above normal by 1.80 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 held a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 6 inches.

Drought, Southern Oxford

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sagadahoc

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of Sagadahoc County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was completely eliminated (0%), leaving 6% in Moderate Drought (D1) and 94% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 6.06 inches, well above normal by 2.57 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 11th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 7 inches.

Drought, Central Somerset

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Central Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 31% of Somerset County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was eliminated (0%), with 98% transitioning to Moderate Drought (D1) and 2% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 4.32 inches, above normal by 0.86 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 11th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 6 inches.

Drought, Southern Somerset

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal Waldo

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 57% of Waldo County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was completely gone (0%), with 71% in Moderate Drought (D1) and 29% Abnormally Dry (D0). May rainfall averaged 4.62 inches, well above normal by 1.02 . However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 11-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 6th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 9 inches.

Drought, Interior Waldo

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Coastal York

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The USDM on April 28 had 100% of York County in Severe Drought (D2), but by the end of May severe drought was reduced to 70%, with 30% improving to Moderate Drought (D1). May rainfall averaged 6.62 inches, well above normal by 3.07 inches. However, one wet May wasn't enough to wipe out extended long-term shortfalls: the 12-month period ending May 2026 still ranked as the 10th driest on record, leaving the area with a multi-month precipitation deficit of more than 9 inches.

Drought, Interior York

When: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Interior York forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2026 Every state in 2026 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, May 2026

Sources

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: 1341497, 1341498, 1341499, 1341500, 1341501, 1341502, 1341503, 1341504, 1341505, 1341506, 1341507, 1341508, 1341509, 1341510, 1341511, 1341512, 1341513.