Blizzards, floods, and hurricanes are occasional weather events in Maine, but their arrival can be sudden and severe. The historical record shows how geography, season, snowpack, wind, and water combine to create damaging conditions.
Blizzards
November 26, 1898, was the first day of the two-day Portland Gale, a hurricane and blizzard that raged for more than thirty-six hours. It sank about one hundred vessels, including the steamer Portland, which was lost off Massachusetts. The wreck took 192 lives.
Maine experienced many substantial blizzards during the twentieth century. Two closely timed storms were described in a historical account from the Brunswick Times Record:
December 28–29, 1922: Snow buried broad areas beneath drifts eight feet high or more. On exposed roads without snow fences, trees, or shrubs, some drifts reportedly reached 20 feet.
January 12, 1923: Another severe storm brought gale-force winds of 25 to 35 mph. By the middle of January, seasonal snowfall in the area had reached 70 inches.
The following table summarizes several major twentieth-century snowstorms reported in the historical record.
| Date | Recorded impact |
|---|---|
| February 25–27, 1934 | A 68-hour storm left 22.7 inches of snow in Portland. Temperatures remained between 7 and 16 degrees, and much of Portland Harbor froze. |
| January 23–24, 1935 | Portland received 23.3 inches of new snow, with temperatures of 8 to 12 degrees and wind gusts reaching 35 mph. |
| December 27–28, 1946 | Twenty-one inches fell in Portland amid temperatures from 0 to 12 degrees and gusts of 35 mph. |
| February 17–18, 1952 | Known as “The Great Blizzard,” the storm brought 25.3 inches to Portland and about three feet to northern Maine. Winds gusted to 65 mph. |
| February 9–10, 1969 | A two-day storm added 21.5 inches in Portland while winds gusted to 54 mph. |
| December 17–18, 1970 | Nearly 23 inches of snow fell in Portland over two days. |
| February 6–7, 1978 | Southern Maine received roughly 8 to more than 12 inches. Gusts exceeding 100 mph created severe blowing and drifting snow. |
| January 17–18, 1979 | A record 27.1 inches fell in Portland with gusts of 46 mph; 24.1 inches accumulated within 24 hours. |
Floods
Rainfall in Maine is generally distributed across the year, but many historically damaging floods have occurred from late winter through spring. During that period, rainfall can combine with frozen ground, melting snow, full rivers, and ice jams.
After several days of intense rain, floods on June 19, 1814, swept away bridges and other structures in Kennebunk, Fryeburg, and Brownfield, as well as along the Androscoggin River in Brunswick and Topsham.
A notable autumn exception was the “Great Freshet of October 1785,” which swept away nearly all mills and bridges in Berwick and Kennebunk.
| Date | Area affected | Contemporary damage estimate |
|---|---|---|
| March 19, 1936 | South-central Maine | $25,000,000 |
| March 27–30, 1953 | Southwestern Maine | No figure listed |
| May 28, 1961 | Eastern Maine | $1,000,000 |
| April 30, 1979 | Northern Maine, St. John River basin | $650,000 |
| April 1, 1987 | Central and south-central Maine | $100,000,000 |
| April 10–12, 1991 | Northern Maine, St. John River basin | $14,400,000 |
| October 20–22, 1996 | Southwestern Maine | $6,450,000 estimate |
Warm frontal systems can bring abundant rainfall northward while frozen ground absorbs little water. Rivers may already be near their banks because of snowmelt, and remaining snowpack can add substantially to runoff. These floods often develop more slowly than summer flash floods, yet last longer and cover larger areas.
Ice jams can make the effects more destructive. Jams on the Kennebec River contributed to severe damage during the 1936 flood. In 1991, an ice jam on the St. John River near Allagash destroyed two bridges.
Hurricanes
Maine lies far north of the regions most frequently struck by tropical cyclones, but hurricanes and their remnants have repeatedly brought destructive rain, wind, coastal water, and power loss to the state.
| Date | Event and recorded effects |
|---|---|
| August 1635 | A probable major hurricane affected early English settlements in New England. |
| October 19, 1775 | A hurricane brought three days of rain and flooding to the expedition marching toward Quebec. |
| March 12, 1888 | The Blizzard of 1888, called the “Great White Hurricane,” paralyzed much of the East Coast from Chesapeake Bay to Maine. |
| November 26, 1898 | The first day of the two-day Portland Gale, both a hurricane and a blizzard. |
| September 21, 1938 | The New England Hurricane caused reported damage in Maine. |
| September 15, 1944 | The Great Atlantic Hurricane reached Maine with hurricane-force impacts. |
| September 7, 1953 | Hurricane Carol caused minor wind damage around Eastport. |
| August 31, 1954 | A later storm also named Carol brought flooding rain and winds measured at 69 mph in Portland. |
| September 11, 1954 | Hurricane Edna arrived eleven days later, damaging Maine’s apple crop and other property. |
| September 12, 1960 | Hurricane Donna uprooted trees and sank pleasure craft along the coast. |
| October 29, 1963 | Hurricane Ginny brought gusts reported near 100 mph in Rockland and 6 to 18 inches of snow in western mountain areas. |
| August 19, 1991 | Hurricane Bob produced gusts of 61 mph in Portland, prolonged power outages, and three deaths in Maine. |
Sources and editorial notes
- Historical storm summaries reported by the Maine Sunday Telegram, November 6, 2006.
- Flood information compiled from USGS Water Supply Paper 2375 and the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
- Flood-process context attributed in the source record to the Maine Geological Survey.
- “A Century of Photos,” Supplement to the Times Record, January 31, 2014.
- Historical cyclone chronology based on a New England tropical cyclone climatology covering 1938–2004.
