Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in Maine

134 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 1.8 a year, 41st of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 1 people and injured 20. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in Maine

  1. F2, Aroostook County, MaineAugust 11, 19541 killed, 1 injured

The strongest

  1. F2, Washington County, MaineSeptember 15, 1961F2, 19.1 mi (31 km)
  2. F2, Aroostook County, MaineAugust 15, 1958F2, 17.0 mi (27 km)
  3. F2, Penobscot County, MaineJune 30, 1971F2, 13.3 mi (21 km)
  4. F2, Waldo County, MaineJuly 7, 1954F2, 7.6 mi (12 km)
  5. F2, Penobscot County, MaineNovember 7, 1971F2, 5.1 mi (8 km)
  6. F2, Somerset County, MaineNovember 7, 1971F2, 4.1 mi (7 km)
  7. F2, Somerset County, MaineAugust 9, 2000F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  8. F2, Aroostook County, MaineSeptember 16, 1957F2, 2.7 mi (4 km)
  9. F2, Kennebec County, MaineJuly 31, 1971F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  10. F2, Penobscot County, MaineAugust 16, 1959F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  11. F2, Androscoggin County, MaineJuly 31, 1971F2, 1.9 mi (3 km)
  12. F2, Kennebec County, MaineJuly 8, 1996F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)

The longest paths

  1. F2, Washington County, MaineSeptember 15, 196119.1 mi (31 km)
  2. F1, Kennebec County, MaineSeptember 14, 195618.7 mi (30 km)
  3. F0, Somerset County, MaineJuly 15, 196317.1 mi (28 km)
  4. F2, Aroostook County, MaineAugust 15, 195817.0 mi (27 km)
  5. EF1, Oxford County, MaineAugust 21, 200916.4 mi (26 km)
  6. F1, Aroostook and Penobscot counties, MaineJuly 24, 200116.0 mi (26 km)
  7. F2, Penobscot County, MaineJune 30, 197113.3 mi (21 km)
  8. F1, Cumberland County, MaineJuly 9, 196211.3 mi (18 km)
  9. F1, Aroostook County, MaineJune 18, 199410.0 mi (16 km)
  10. F1, Aroostook County, MaineAugust 29, 19609.7 mi (16 km)
  11. F1, Somerset County, MaineOctober 3, 19709.5 mi (15 km)
  12. EF0, Aroostook County, MaineJune 8, 20118.9 mi (14 km)

The costliest

  1. F1, Sagadahoc County, MaineNovember 24, 2005$250,000
  2. F1, York County, MaineSeptember 29, 2006$120,000
  3. F1, Oxford County, MaineAugust 13, 1999$10,000
  4. F2, Kennebec County, MaineJuly 8, 1996$10,000
  5. EF0, Cumberland and Oxford counties, MaineJuly 11, 2020$4,000
  6. F1, Oxford County, MaineOctober 1, 1998$3,000
  7. F0, Cumberland County, MaineNovember 24, 2005$1,000

The biggest days in Maine

  1. July 1, 20175tornadoes
  2. July 21, 20103tornadoes
  3. May 31, 20093tornadoes
  4. November 7, 19713tornadoes
  5. July 31, 19713tornadoes
  6. July 1, 19633tornadoes
  7. July 2, 19583tornadoes
  8. August 5, 20172tornadoes
  9. June 8, 20112tornadoes
  10. June 1, 20112tornadoes
  11. November 24, 20052tornadoes
  12. June 18, 19942tornadoes

Every year

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
20201
20191
201771
20161
20144
20134
20121
20115
20105
20097
20071
20061
20052
20041
20023
200121
20002
19991
19981
19973
19961
199432
19932
19911
19891
19881
19861
19841
19811
19782
19771
197612
19752
197411
19733
19722
1971111
19702
19691
196822
19671
19662
196533
19636
19622
196161
19601
195962
19587
19571
19562
1954212
195322

Every county in Maine

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 134. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Aroostook County301
Oxford County17
Cumberland County13
Penobscot County13
Somerset County13
York County12
Kennebec County11
Piscataquis County6
Washington County6
Androscoggin County4
Franklin County4
Waldo County3
Lincoln County2
Sagadahoc County2
Hancock County1
Knox County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in MaineForecast for your townThe live radar over Maine

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.