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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kennebunk, 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

38 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kennebunk, Maine since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
4

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
34

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
18

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Kennebunk

The strongest storm to pass near Kennebunk was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1869, whose centre came within 12 miles. The record near Kennebunk begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 51 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems. Of the 38 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Kennebunk has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 160 Maine cities on this site. The highest rating among the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on June 22, 1981, came within 23 miles. Of the 18, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 5 each. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2014. Kennebunk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 160 Maine cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1960, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Kennebunk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 160 Maine cities.

Compare Kennebunk's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kennebunk

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Kennebunk, Maine, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021ElsaJul 951 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 857 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008HannaSep 750 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 569 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 173 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1418 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 3
1991BobAug 1928 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2748 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 4
1971DoriaAug 2868 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1961EstherSep 2629 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 5
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 159 miTropical storm (68 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1312 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3130 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1169 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1954CarolAug 3140 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1543 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 929 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1939 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2123 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1718 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 312 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3058 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1725 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 157 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 243 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 1110 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1024 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2949 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1242 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2265 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
1880Unnamed 1880 stormOct 2371 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2442 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3015 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormOct 420 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 912 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 34 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2810 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1623 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kennebunk: 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 Kennebunk

By decade

  • 2010s4
  • 2000s1
  • 1990s1
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s4
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Kennebunk, Maine
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 22, 1981F223 mi8.7 mi0 / 0
May 3, 1976F223 mi1 mi0 / 0
Oct 10, 1966F212 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
May 14, 1963F216 mi8.7 mi0 / 0
Jun 19, 1957F223 mi0.2 mi0 / 1
Jul 28, 2014EF120 mi1.71 mi0 / 0
Jul 21, 2010EF111 mi5.44 mi0 / 0
Jul 21, 2010EF123 mi1.97 mi0 / 0
Sep 29, 2006F112 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Aug 7, 1986F118 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Aug 13, 1976F15 mi0.3 mi0 / 2
Jun 22, 1974F118 mi0.1 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Kennebunk

The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Kennebunk since 1960, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 20, 2001. The most recent report is from August 22, 2020. July has the most reports, 18.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Kennebunk

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kennebunkport, ME, 4 miles southeast of Kennebunk at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 13°F. October is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 3.7 inches; the year adds up to 52.0 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 52.0 inches). September has brought the most of the 38 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 69°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.9 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 52.0 inches is more than at 43 of the 47 Maine stations used on this site (91%). Alfred, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Sanford 2 NNW, ME): 51.4 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 77°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Seavey Island, ME, 23 miles southwest, averaged 64°F in August and 37°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Seavey Island tide gauge, 23 miles from Kennebunk, has risen 0.87 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1926 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.7 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 48 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Kennebunkport, ME
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan33133.7813.340
Feb35143.7713.337
Mar41234.789.840
Apr52324.781.344
May62434.280.052
Jun71524.780.058
Jul77583.970.061
Aug76573.970.064
Sep69493.960.062
Oct59385.680.157
Nov48294.270.750
Dec39204.8810.443
Year553652.08848.951

Averages for 1991–2020 at Kennebunkport, ME (20 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Seavey Island, ME, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Maine weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Kennebunk

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kennebunk: 48 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 3 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 14, 2020.

  • October 31, 2021: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Kennebunk — $2.0 million damage.

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

Flood insurance policyholders in Kennebunk's ZIP code 04043 have filed 302 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from The "Halloween" Storm in 1991: 65 claims (22% of all) and $929,000, then April 2007 Nor'easter in 2007 with 32. 32% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 61 Maine cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 59 have fewer than Kennebunk.

Flood insurance claims in Kennebunk by named event
EventClaimsPaid
The "Halloween" Storm199165$929,000
April 2007 Nor'easter200732$839,000

York County, which includes Kennebunk, has been named in 42 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 31 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 6 floods, 6 snowstorms, 4 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives York County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for coastal flooding; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $55.7 million a year, the 2nd highest of 16 Maine counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.9 million (46%), 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 Kennebunk