Kennebec County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Kennebec 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 (5), 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. Jan 5, 1998Ice Storm, Kennebec$49.0 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…

2. Apr 16, 2007Flood$1.9 million
   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…

3. Dec 21, 2013Ice Storm, Kennebec$844,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm affected the State of Maine from December 21st, 2013, through January 6th,, 2014. A mixture of precipitation fell across the state from December 21st through the 23rd with snow across northern areas, a mixture of snow and sleet across north central areas, a mixture of sleet and freezing rain across south central areas, and a mixture of freezing rain and rain in southern areas. Due to the weight of the ice on tree branches and limbs from freezing rain, widespread power outages occurred in portions southern and central Maine. Because subfreezing temperatures followed the storm and persisted for about two weeks, the ice remained on the trees for a prolonged…

4. Apr 28, 2005Flood, Kennebec$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold front moved through Maine on the afternoon of April 27th. Low pressure developed on the front along the coast of Maine late in the day and produced copious amounts of rainfall across the area into the morning of the 28th. Rainfall amounts of over 4 inches were common in Waldo and Knox Counties. Cushing received 7.85 inches, West Rockport received 6.63 inches, Camden received 5.28 inches, and Sedgewick received 4.13 inches. This event and the rainfall event of the 24th and 25th caused many rivers and streams to rise over their banks flooding and washing out roads. Many roads were closed which caused a major disruption to travel.The Presumpscot River at Westbrook rose above…

5. May 1, 2023Flood$581,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Kennebec River came out of banks and on May 1 and caused significant flooding to several businesses between Augusta and Gardiner. The discharge measured at the USGS river gage in Sydney, just upstream of Augusta, had a 10 year peak flow of 113,000 cfs, which is tied as the third highest streamflow with June 1, 1984 and exceeded only by the flood of 1987 and 1936. The river crested at 20.3 feet in Augusta and 16.8 feet in Hallowell, just shy of the 18 foot stage for major flood level. The flooding was the result of a basin average of 4.5 inches, most of which ran off from nearly saturated ground conditions. ||The most significant impacts occurred in Gardiner along the…

6. Jan 12, 1996Heavy Snow, Kennebec$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   From 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across the southern two-thirds of Maine as a strong low pressure center moved northeastward through the Gulf of Maine, just off the east coast. The added weight of this snowfall to the previous ones collapsed the roofs of several buildings, including that of an arena at the Litchfield Fairground, crushing farm equipment and antique vehicles.

7. Apr 16, 1997Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the morning of April 16, the dam on Apple Valley Lake breached causing flooding in North Monmouth. Flood damages totalled about $250,000 to roads and about $100,000 to homes.

8. Dec 11, 2008Ice Storm, Kennebec$267,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm brought a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to Maine from the morning of December 11th to the morning of December 12th. The greatest impact in the state was in coastal counties of the state where a significant ice storm occurred. Following the ice storm, recovery and restoration efforts were negatively impacted by additional winter weather events that passed through the state. ||The ice storm was caused by an area of low pressure that moved northeastward along a stalled frontal boundary off the East Coast. Near ground level, cold air from eastern Canada funneled southward into the region on northerly winds. Southerly winds at higher levels of the…

9. Dec 18, 2023Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On December 19th, the Kennebec River at Hallowell reached major flood stage, cresting at 22.5 feet at the USGS river gage. There was significant damage to riverside businesses with floodwaters reaching all the way up to Route 201 on Water Street. Flood waters filled basements and were up to 18 in over 2 dozen businesses in downtown Hallowell. Further downstream in Gardiner there was severe flooding near the confluence with the Cobbosseecontee Stream and the Kennebec River between Route 201, Bridge Street, and Water Street. Dozens of businesses and apartments were inundated with water up to 5 feet deep.

10. Dec 18, 2023Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Near record flooding along the Kennebec River occurred on December 19th following heavy rainfall and snowmelt on the 18th. The rain and snowmelt in the mountains sent a flood wave to Kennebec County causing major flooding from the mountains to the coast. The USGS river gage in North Sidney crested at 32.32 feet. This is the second highest flood since the gage was established in 1979, surpassed only by the flood of 1987 which crested at 39.31 feet. There is no stage from the flood of 1936, but it is estimated that it had a stage less than 1987 but higher than 2023. The streamflows on December 19th peaked around 167 kcfs, and have an annual recurrence probability between 1% and…

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

100°F2 times, most recently Jun 24, 2025

All-time low

−23°FFeb 2, 1962

Warmest night

76°FJul 22, 2011

Coldest day

−8°FJan 15, 1957

Wettest day

5.78 inSep 11, 1954

Snowiest day

21.6 inDec 24, 1970

Hottest year

2024mean 49.8°F

Coldest year

1968mean 42.9°F

Wettest year

200557.31 in

Driest year

200125.79 in

Snowiest season

132.6 in1995-96

Station Augusta State Airport (USW00014605), 349 ft elevation, 6.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00014605.
• 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.