Franklin County, Maine severe weather history spans 285 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,868 nationally and #9 in Maine.
285
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$14.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Maine severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Maine severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 22 events fall before 1990 and 263 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, Maine record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $10.6M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 123 | 0 | $55K | 70 | 1963–2025 |
| Hail | 56 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1975–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 52 | 1 | $10.6M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 38 | 0 | $3.1M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Lightning | 11 | 0 | $522K | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $300K | F1 | 1958–1989 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Maine severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-07-31 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 1998 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 18, 2000 | Lightning | RANGELEY | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Jul 18, 2000 | Lightning | FARMINGTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | COBURN GORE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 1998 | Lightning | NEW SHARON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2001 | Lightning | WILTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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 local roads flooded including Flagg Road, Starks Road, and West Dandy River Road. Multiple homes were surrounded with basement and minor first floor flooding, particularly in Farmington Falls. Further downstream in Norridgewock, the Sandy River Road flooded.
Flooding along the Sandy River between Phillips and Strong caused numerous road closures including parts of Route 4 and River Road. Hardest hit was in Avon where backwater along a brook paralleling the Avon Valley Road flooded a home.
Lightning struck one of the apartment buildings at the Blueberry Hills Apartments in Farmington and ignited a fire that caused an estimated 100,000 in damages. About 13 tenants of the four damaged apartments were displaced by the fire.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,413
Population (ACS)
$195K
Median home value
85
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 14, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Sep 5, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 6, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 22, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Maine?
285 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $14.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 123 recorded events — 43.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
85 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin County, Maine severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cumberland County 602
- Hancock County 136
- Aroostook County 934
- Kennebec County 377
- Androscoggin County 265
- Knox County 95
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Maine.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maine/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.