Tornadoes · United States · Maine

Tornadoes in York County, Maine

14 tornadoes have crossed York County since 1950, 3rd of the 16 counties in Maine with a tornado on record, an average of one every 5.4 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 2. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
14
Deaths
0
Injuries
2
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F2, October 10, 1966

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 11 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in York County. Each year links to every tornado in Maine that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20141EF1
20103EF1
20061F1
19931F0
19862F1
197612F1
19731F0
19661F2
19631F2
19581F1
19561F1

Every tornado that crossed York County

14 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Maine.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 28, 20143:49 PM EDTEF1York1.780
July 21, 20107:24 PM EDTEF1York5.4200
July 21, 20106:47 PM EDTEF0Cumberland6.0350
July 21, 20106:15 PM EDTEF1York2.0200
September 29, 20062:54 PM EDTF1York1.5200$120,000
August 2, 19934:20 PM EDTF0York0.6150$5,000 to $50,000
August 7, 19863:20 PM EDTF1York1.5200$50,000 to $500,000
August 7, 19862:10 PM CDTF1Carroll to ME3.5200$500,000 to $5 million
August 13, 19768:00 PM EDTF1York0.3502$50,000 to $500,000
August 28, 19732:30 PM EDTF0York0.110
October 10, 19665:08 PM GMT-4F2York0.250$5,000 to $50,000
May 14, 19635:00 PM GMT-5F2Strafford to ME8.750$5,000 to $50,000
July 11, 19583:30 PM GMT-4F1York1.017$500 to $5,000
June 1, 19565:00 PM GMT-4F1York1.013$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in York CountyThe forecast for York CountyThe live radar over York CountyEvery county in 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.