Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Franklin County: 0.
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 (85).

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. Jun 29, 2023Flash Flood$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A concentrated area of 3 to 6 inches of rain fell across southern Franklin County during the afternoon of June 29th into the early evening hours. Between 400 pm and 700 pm, a stalled thunderstorm brought 2 to 3 inch per hour rainfall rates which peaked between 430 pm and 600 pm where most of the rain fell. These rains fell across previously saturated soils and hilly terrain. Flooding developed quickly and the hardest hit community of Jay had considerable damage. More than a dozen roads sustained significant washouts and were closed to traffic. Several major roads including Routes 4, 140, and 133 in Jay were damaged. A bridge was washed out on Macomber Hill Road and another in…

2. Jan 5, 1998Ice Storm, Southern Franklin$6.0 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, 1998Ice Storm, Northern Franklin$3.0 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. Dec 18, 2023Flood$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Near record flooding occurred on the Sandy River following a heavy rain and snowmelt event on the 18th. The rainfall across the headwaters of the Sandy was estimated between 5 and 6 inches, but it was the combination of this and an additional 3 inches of snowmelt runoff that caused the catastrophic flooding. The USGS river gage reached a stage of 12.79 feet on the late afternoon of the 18th, with a measured streamflow over 10 kcfs. The streamflows measured surpassed a 0.2% annual chance exceedance flood, otherwise referred to as a 500-year flood. The river rise went from 5 feet at midnight to over 12 feet by the early afternoon, breaking the previous record set after the remnants…

5. Jun 18, 1998Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four and a half inches of rain in one hour caused extensive damage to roads in Industry.

6. Dec 18, 2023Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Sandy River reached major flood level on the afternoon of December 18th. The river crested at a stage of 17.35 feet which was the 3rd highest crest ever recorded. The flooding was most severe in the headwaters between Sandy River Plantation and Farmington where bridges were washed out and homes were inundated. Between Farmington Falls and Madison the flooding was widespread. Several homes in New Sharon were flooded along Route 134. Main thruways in the area were cut off including Route 2 which flooded in multiple locations including the New Sharon bridge. Route 134 north of the river flooded into Beans Corner Road and Glenn Harris Roads. On the south side of the river, several…

7. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Irene resulted in flash flooding in Carrabasset Valley.

8. Apr 16, 2007Flood$370,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An area of low pressure over the southeastern United States on the morning of Sunday, April 15th, rapidly intensified as it slowly moved north to near New York City by the morning of Monday, April 16th. This intense low in combination with high pressure over eastern Canada produced Overview: An area of low pressure intensified rapidly as it moved slowly from the southeastern United States on the morning of Sunday, April 15th to near New York City by the morning of Monday, April 16th. The intense low over New York City in combination with high pressure over eastern Canada produced a very intense pressure gradient across the area which caused strong east to northeast winds to…

9. Dec 18, 2023Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An unnamed tributary to the Alder Stream washed out the entire length of Tufts Pond Road to the sub-base. The flooding was the result of 5 inches of rain and another 2 to 3 inches of snowmelt running off frozen terrain.

10. Apr 22, 2000Flash Flood$271,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A weakening area of low pressure was located over the state of Michigan at 7 pm on the 21st as a secondary low developed over northern Virginia. Precipitation began falling in southwestern Maine during the late afternoon and evening of the 21st. The Virginia low began to strengthen as it moved very slowly northeastward to a position just southeast of New York City by 7 am on the 22nd. By this time, up to 2.5 inches of rain had already fallen in portions of coastal Maine. The low continued to develop and move slowly northeast, and was located over Cape Cod by 7 am on the 23rd. Rain continued to fall in Maine with additional amounts of 1 to 2 inches since the previous day. By the…

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

104°FJul 10, 1911

All-time low

−39°FJan 20, 1994

Warmest night

75°FAug 12, 1896

Coldest day

−11°F2 times, most recently Jan 9, 1968

Wettest day

5.99 inDec 28, 1969

Snowiest day

26.0 inDec 7, 2003

Hottest year

1898mean 46.8°F

Coldest year

1972mean 39.1°F

Wettest year

200567.78 in

Driest year

193930.97 in

Snowiest season

164.0 in1968-69

Station Farmington (USC00172765), 411 ft elevation, 3.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to September 29, 2026; 96.9% 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 USC00172765.
• 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.