Cumberland County, Maine severe weather history spans 602 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #578 nationally and #2 in Maine.
602
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$31.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Cumberland County, Maine severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cumberland County, Maine severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 223 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 71 events fall before 1990 and 531 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cumberland County, Maine record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $18.6M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cumberland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 320 | 1 | $1.1M | 75 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 147 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1964–2025 |
| Lightning | 42 | 2 | $1.8M | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Flood | 39 | 0 | $9.5M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 1 | $18.6M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $13K | F1 | 1953–2020 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 7 | 0 | $288K | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2010 |
Decade by decade
Cumberland County, Maine severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-08-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-10-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-07-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-07-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cumberland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2008 | Lightning | STANDISH | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | LONG BEACH | 1 | 0 | $300K |
| Oct 21, 1996 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $15.0M |
| Aug 3, 1997 | Lightning | GORHAM | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2009 | Lightning | HARRISON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2017 | Tornado | BRIDGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2014 | Lightning | SOUTH BRIDGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2013 | Lightning | SONGO LOCK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm and associated microburst reached the western shore of Sebago Lake just after 4pm. The damaging winds downed 80 to 100 trees…some uprooted and others snapped. Most of the trees were softwoods while a few were hardwoods. About fifteen structures were damaged along with ten vehicles. One fatality occurred when a tree fell on an occupied vehicle. The most significant damage occurred within a one mile path width and within a quarter mile of the western shore of Sebago Lake. Sporadic damage occurred beyond this. This storm would continue to produce|additional wind damage as it moved east of Sebago Lake later in the afternoon.
Very heavy rain caused serious flash flooding in the Portland area submerging cars and forcing evacuations from numerous city properties including 200 people from the La Quinta Inn on Park Avenue. Over 5 inches of rain fell in 2 to 4 hours with 1.42 inches falling in 27 minutes.
Rainfall measured between 3.5 to 5.15 inches fell across Cumberland County between April 30 and May 1. This rainfall caused flooding of numerous low lying roads and multiple road closures. The Royal River flooded a portion of Route 211 in North Gloucester causing its closure for 2 days.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
308,827
Population (ACS)
$451K
Median home value
39
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Mar 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 14, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 2, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cumberland County, Maine?
602 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $31.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cumberland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 320 recorded events — 53.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cumberland County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cumberland County?
39 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cumberland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cumberland County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cumberland County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cumberland 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
- Aroostook County 934
- Franklin County 285
- Androscoggin County 265
- Hancock County 136
- Kennebec County 377
- Knox County 95
Cite this page
“Cumberland County, Maine.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maine/cumberland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.