Somerset County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Somerset 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 (47).

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. Dec 18, 2023Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Catastrophic flooding occurred along the Kennebec River at Skowhegan following heavy rain and snowmelt event on the 18th. Heavy rain averaging 5 inches fell across the entire Kennebec Valley, and in the mountains an additional 3 inches of snowmelt runoff resulted in major flooding for the Kennebec River and its headwater tributaries. In Madison, the flood exceeded the record event in 1987, however in Skowhegan the flood levels were a few feet lower. The streamflows were estimated around 178 kcfs which falls between a 100 and 500 year flood, otherwise referred to as a 1% and 0.2% annual chance exceedance event. The majority of the property flooding occurred on the east side of the…

2. Jan 5, 1998Ice Storm, Southern Somerset$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, Central Somerset$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…

4. Dec 18, 2023Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Carrabassett River Valley experienced catastrophic flooding following a heavy rain and snowmelt event on December 18th. The rain fell over an 18 hour period and averaged 5 inches across the basin, with an additional 2 to 3.5 inches of snowmelt. The steep terrain and frozen ground supported rapid runoff with all streams becoming raging torrents. The USGS river gage on the Carrabassett River in North Anson climbed from 5 feet to 26.64 feet in 24 hours, narrowly missing the all time record stage of 26.66 feet set in 1987. This was the second highest crest ever recorded since the gage was established in 1929. The streamflows were measured over 50 kcfs, which exceeds the 0.2%…

5. Jul 17, 2000Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A dam on Tibbetts Pond failed from the combined effects of beavers blocking the outlet pipe and 3 to 5 inches of rain. The dam, 100 ft long, 6 ft high, and 30 ft wide at the base, failed at about 3 am, causing water to flood Route 16. A car driven on Route 16 by a 32-year-old man was swept away by the 8-ft wall of water which accompanied the flash flood; fortunately the man survived. A 900 ft section of Route 16 was washed away by the flood waters; the water cut channels as deep as 20 ft. Damage was estimated at about 1 million dollars.

6. Jun 28, 2016Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms dumped over 7 inches of rain in less than 5 hours causing tremendous damage to the network of camp roads west of Route 201 between Jackman and the Forks.

7. Apr 29, 2008Flood$370,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in serious county-wide flooding of small rivers and streams in southern Somerset County. Some of the most extensive damage occurred in the towns of Canaan, Cornville, Detroit, Fairfield, Harmony, Palmyra, Pittsfield, St. Albans and Skowhegan. Hardest hit was Cornville where damage amounted to almost $140,000.00.

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

   Heavy rain and snowmelt caused the Pleasant Pond Stream to flood 2 bridges, one near Main Street and the other upstream. Main Street was closed cutting off most homes in the community. Some buildings were also inundated.

9. Apr 22, 2000Flash Flood$343,000
   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…

10. Jul 13, 1996Flash Flood$330,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The remnants of Hurricane Bertha damaged two bridges in Anson.

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

102°F2 times, most recently Aug 5, 1955

All-time low

−40°FDec 30, 1933

Warmest night

76°FJun 27, 1941

Coldest day

−11°FDec 29, 1933

Wettest day

4.50 inJul 17, 2000

Snowiest day

24.3 inFeb 15, 2007

Hottest year

2010mean 46.2°F

Coldest year

1917mean 39.8°F

Wettest year

195459.01 in

Driest year

199224.06 in

Snowiest season

138.4 in1970-71

Station Madison (USC00174927), 220 ft elevation, 10.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 27, 2026; 99.1% 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 USC00174927.
• 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.