Oxford County, Maine severe weather history spans 564 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #678 nationally and #4 in Maine.
564
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$24.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Oxford County, Maine severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Oxford County, Maine severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 193 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 519 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Oxford County, Maine record is flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $11.3M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Oxford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 254 | 1 | $72K | 90 | 1959–2025 |
| Hail | 107 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 92 | 0 | $11.3M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 73 | 2 | $11.1M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Lightning | 18 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $65K | F1 | 1961–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $350K | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Oxford County, Maine severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
18 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 0 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 | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-08-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-10-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Oxford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 2023 | Flood | MIDDLE INTERVALE | 2 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Jun 19, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | FRYEBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 22, 1997 | Lightning | OXFORD | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2015 | Lightning | DENMARK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 1997 | Lightning | ANDOVER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Considerable flash flooding occurred in Andover on the morning of the 26th after 3 and 6 inches of rain fell along the south facing slopes of the Wyman Mountain. Abbott Brook was redirected and severely impacted Wyman Hill Road and personal property along it. At one stretch along Wyman Hill Rd, Abbott Brook was diverted and is running directly down the middle of the road. More than a dozen residents were impacted, leaving people without road access. The main bridge at Wyman Hill Rd and Cross Rd was washed out. There was also one water rescue in Andover as a vehicle got stuck in the flood waters. The runoff caused the Ellis River to climb above flood stage cresting at 17.29 feet.||Additional roads in Andover that sustained washouts were East B Hill Road and South Arm Road. The major thruway of Route 120 was closed from Route 5 to Roxbury Pond Road due to flooding out of the Ellis River.
The Androscoggin River reached flood stage during the morning of May 1. Flood waters out of Gorham flooded areas from Gilead, to extensive flooding in Bethel and Rumford. Flooding started at North Road in Gilead, followed by Route 26 in Bethel between Cross Street and Intervale Road. In Rumford, South Rumford Road flooded. Low spots flood along the Swift and Androscoggin Rivers in Mexico and Rumford flooded including parks and boat launches. The USGS river gage in Rumford crested at 15.76 feet, less than a foot above flood stage.
Major flooding of the Sunday River occurred on the 18th after an estimated 7 to 9 inches of rain and snowmelt ran off into the river. The resultant flow was estimated to be over a 0.2% recurrence interval with flows between 10 and 12 kcfs. The most severe damages were in the Sunday River resort region where a landslide caused damage to a recreational building and several roads were washout out. The flooding continued downstream to Bethel where a Route 2 bridge was flooded and access in and out of the region was cut off for days. Homes were flooded on Sunday River Road including several townhomes off Cherry Lane. Sunday River flooded a bridge and numerous other spots on Vista Road, Roderick Road, Bear River Road, and Sunday River Road, in Newry. Several roads were deemed inaccessible including Summit Road which was completely washout out with the loss of a large metal culvert. Bear River, a tributary to Sunday River also came out of its banks, washing away multiple parked vehicles, in Newry. Multiple water rescue was conducted for occupants of vehicles in flood waters on Vista Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
59,255
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
73
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 14, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Sep 6, 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Roxbury 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Oxford County, Maine?
564 events are on record between 1958 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $24.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Oxford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 254 recorded events — 45.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Oxford County?
18 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Oxford County?
73 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Oxford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Oxford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Oxford County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 66 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Oxford 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
- Lincoln County 120
- Penobscot County 574
- Knox County 95
- Piscataquis County 331
- Kennebec County 377
- Sagadahoc County 89
Cite this page
“Oxford County, Maine.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maine/oxford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.