Piscataquis County, Maine severe weather history spans 331 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,599 nationally and #8 in Maine.
331
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$1.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Piscataquis County, Maine severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Piscataquis County, Maine severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 29 events fall before 1990 and 302 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Piscataquis County, Maine record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $1.1M 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 Piscataquis County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 180 | 0 | $0 | 65 | 1964–2025 |
| Hail | 70 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1966–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $529K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 35 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2006–2026 |
| Tornado | 5 | 0 | $25K | F1 | 1959–2013 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Piscataquis County, Maine severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-08-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-07-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-09-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-08-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Piscataquis County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2007 | Lightning | CHESUNCOOK | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 22, 1997 | Lightning | GREENVILLE | 0 | 7 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2023 | Lightning | MOLUNKUS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | GREENVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
One camper was killed and his brother injured when lightning struck a tree near their campsite and arced to strike them both where they were sheltering. The incident occurred at the Katahdin Stream Campground in Baxter State Park at some point between 8:00 and 8:15 PM. The surviving brother was hospitalized with first and second degree burns to his feet.
A combination of 3.00 to 4.00 inches of rain which fell in late April and the melting of a near record snowpack across northern portions of the county led to extensive flooding across all of Piscataquis county. Many rivers and streams overflowed their banks…producing varying degrees of flooding across the county. The flooding affected many towns…with many roads also flooded. Significant damage to public infrastructure was reported across the entire county.|Flooding was reported on the Piscataquis River at Dover-Foxcroft and on the Pleasant River at Brownville Junction. The flooding affected mostly lowland areas bordering the rivers. Other smaller rivers…streams and brooks also flooded. Several roads were flooded including Lakeview Plantation Road…Harlow Pond Road and the Back-Abbot Road.|This was a continuation of flooding which began in late April. The monetary value represents the total damage to public infrastructure across all of Piscataquis county from the late April and early May flooding.
A combination of 3.00 to 4.00 inches of rain which fell in late April and snowmelt in headwater areas led to flooding of the Piscataquis River at Medford. The river crested less than a half foot above flood stage. The flooding affected mostly lowland areas bordering the river. This was a continuation of flooding which began in late April. The monetary value represents the total damage to public infrastructure across all of Piscataquis county from the late April and early May flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,263
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
142
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 14, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Piscataquis County, Maine?
331 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Piscataquis County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 180 recorded events — 54.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Piscataquis County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Piscataquis County?
142 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Piscataquis County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Piscataquis County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Piscataquis County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Piscataquis 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
- Penobscot County 574
- Sagadahoc County 89
- Oxford County 564
- Somerset County 465
- Lincoln County 120
- Waldo County 139
Cite this page
“Piscataquis County, Maine.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maine/piscataquis-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.