NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Houlton, ME
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Houlton, Maine since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Bertha in 1996. Since 1950, 3 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 21
- Tornadoes
- 3
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Houlton
The strongest storm to pass near Houlton was Edna in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 76 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1900, whose centre came within 33 miles. The record near Houlton begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Bertha in 1996, a tropical storm 67 miles away. None of the 25 systems has come since 2000. Houlton has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 160 Maine cities on this site. The highest rating among the 3 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 4, 2002, came within 9 miles. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2014. Of the 160 Maine cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Houlton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 18 times since 1961, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 160 Maine cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Houlton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Houlton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 20 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 28 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 7 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | CarrieSep 4 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | GerdaSep 10 | 50 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 31 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | EdnaSep 12 | 71 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormFeb 5 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 17 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 22 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 33 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 2 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 11 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 27 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 23 | 65 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 23 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormOct 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 9 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Houlton: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Houlton
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 2002 | F1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2001 | F1 | 9 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 26, 2014 | EF0 | 6 mi | 0.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 3 of 3, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Houlton
The Storm Prediction Center has 18 hail reports within 10 miles of Houlton since 1961, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on August 4, 2015. The most recent report is from August 10, 2019. August has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Houlton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Houlton International Airport, ME, 4 miles east of Houlton at 476 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 3°F. June and October are the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (22.1 of 39.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 68°F and 3.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 190 nights a year. That 39.3 inches is more than at 2 of the 47 Maine stations used on this site (4%). Presque Isle, 39 miles north, has its own station (Presque Isle, ME): 38.2 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 3 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 26 | 3 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 36 | 15 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Apr | 49 | 28 | 2.9 | 8 |
| May | 64 | 39 | 3.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 73 | 48 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 78 | 54 | 3.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 77 | 52 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 68 | 44 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 55 | 34 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Nov | 41 | 25 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Dec | 30 | 12 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Year | 52 | 30 | 39.3 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Houlton International Airport, ME (476 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Houlton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Houlton: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 3, 2002.
May 25, 2010: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Houlton — 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree was toppled on to a car on Court Street by wind gusts estimated at 65 mph. The driver of the car was injured by the falling tree.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Aroostook County, which includes Houlton, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 snowstorms, 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Aroostook County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $34.8 million a year, the 5th highest of 16 Maine counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.6 million (39%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Houlton
- Presque Isle, ME39 mi
- Mapleton, ME41 mi
- Fort Fairfield, ME45 mi
- Caribou, ME52 mi
- Millinocket, ME53 mi
- Lincoln, ME60 mi
- Van Buren, ME71 mi
- Calais, ME73 mi
- Baileyville, ME73 mi
- Milo, ME80 mi
- Fort Kent, ME82 mi
- Madawaska, ME87 mi
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