Aroostook County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Aroostook County: 1.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by ME GS (26), NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 28, 2018Flood$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   River and lake flooding occurred from late April into early May due to run-off from rain and melting of the remaining snowpack. The most significant impacts occurred along the Fish River and lakes across extreme northeast Aroostook county. Homes and other structures were flooded and damaged to varying degrees. Lake ice also contributed to the damage...destroying decks and forcing some buildings off their foundation. Roads were flooded and closed with damage to some roads...culverts and bridges.

2. Jan 5, 1998Heavy Snow, Northeast Aroostook$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe ICE STORM hit sections of central and southern Maine from January 5 through January 9. One of the hardest hit areas stretched from Bridgton to Lewiston to Augusta to Waterville where ice accreted several inches thick on trees, power lines, and other exposed surfaces causing almost everyone in those areas to lose electrical service. Statewide, the storm knocked out power to about 365,000 customers, an estimated 840,000 people or about 70 percent of the state's population of 1.2 million people. About one third of those that lost power were without electricity for more than a week. For some, the electricity was off for up to 3 weeks. During this time, residents and those…

3. Jan 5, 1998Heavy Snow, Southeast Aroostook$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe ICE STORM hit sections of central and southern Maine from January 5 through January 9. One of the hardest hit areas stretched from Bridgton to Lewiston to Augusta to Waterville where ice accreted several inches thick on trees, power lines, and other exposed surfaces causing almost everyone in those areas to lose electrical service. Statewide, the storm knocked out power to about 365,000 customers, an estimated 840,000 people or about 70 percent of the state's population of 1.2 million people. About one third of those that lost power were without electricity for more than a week. For some, the electricity was off for up to 3 weeks. During this time, residents and those…

4. Aug 11, 2016Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail up to 1.50 inches in diameter dented vehicles and broke windows in the Caribou area. Hundreds of vehicles received varying degrees of hail damage. Hail damage to vehicles in the Caribou area was estimated at around 1.00 Million $USD.

5. Apr 30, 2008Flood$727,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of 2.50 to 3.50 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack led to historic flooding of the Saint John River at Fort Kent. The river crested at an all-time high level which was just over 5 feet above flood stage. The Fish River which flows into the Saint John River at Fort Kent also overflowed its banks...contributing to the Fort Kent flooding. |The Saint John River initially began flooding in the vicinity of the juncture with the Fish River when the waters of the Saint John River backed up into the Fish River. The initial flooding began with water running behind the levee which had been built along the Saint John River. Sandbagging efforts were eventually…

6. Apr 30, 2008Flood$727,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of 2.50 to 3.50 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack led to flooding along the Saint Francis River. The river crested just under a foot above flood stage. The flooding affected mostly wilderness areas of the North Maine Woods bordering the river. The flooding continued into May. The monetary value represents the total damage to public infrastructure across all of Aroostook county.

7. Apr 30, 2008Flood$727,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of 2.00 to 3.00 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack contributed to flooding of the Arostook River near Masardis. The river crested a little over 1 foot above flood stage. The flooding affected mostly lowland areas along the river and Route 11 near Masardis. The flooding continued into May. The monetary value represents the total damage to public infrastucture across all of Aroostook county.

8. Apr 29, 2008Flood$727,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of 2.50 to 3.50 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack led to flooding along the Big Black River. The river crested nearly 2 feet above flood stage. The flooding affected mostly wilderness areas of the North Maine Woods bordering the river. The flooding continued into May. The monetary value represents the total damage to public infrastructure across all of Aroostook county.

9. Apr 29, 2008Flood$727,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of 2.50 to 3.50 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack contributed to historic flooding of the Fish River at Fort Kent. The river crested at nearly 3 feet above stage. The flooding along the Fish River was enhanced due to water backing into it from the Saint John River which also crested at historic levels. The Fish River empties into the Saint John River at Fort Kent.|The initial flooding of the Fish River developed behind the levee which was built to protect Fort Kent from the Saint John River. Though sandbagging efforts were eventually able to help control the flooding of the Fish River...it still contributed to the inundation of portions of Fort…

10. May 1, 2008Flood$727,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A combination of 2.00 to 3.50 inches of rain which fell in late April along with the melting of a record snowpack led to significant flooding across all of Aroostook county. All of the larger rivers across the county flooded to varying extents. The flooding on the Saint John River at Fort Kent and on the Fish River at Fort Kent both reached all-time historical levels. Many of the smaller rivers...streams and brooks also flooded to various extents.|Preliminary damage assessments indicated that nearly 400 homes across the county were impacted by flooding...which included around 200 homes with major damage and 14 homes which were destroyed. Some businesses were also damaged or…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

96°F3 times, most recently Jun 19, 2024

All-time low

−41°FFeb 1, 1955

Warmest night

71°F8 times, most recently Jul 2, 2026

Coldest day

−16°FJan 4, 1981

Wettest day

6.67 inAug 17, 1981

Snowiest day

28.6 inMar 14, 1984

Hottest year

2024mean 44.7°F

Coldest year

1972mean 36.2°F

Wettest year

201155.36 in

Driest year

196627.92 in

Snowiest season

197.8 in2007-08

Station Caribou Wfo (USW00014607), 619 ft elevation, 12.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014607.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.