NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Millinocket, 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 Millinocket, Maine since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Irene in 2011. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 23
- Tornadoes
- 5
- 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 Millinocket
The strongest storm to pass near Millinocket was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 1 hurricane with 76 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The record near Millinocket begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Irene in 2011, a tropical storm 65 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems. Of the 25 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 160 Maine cities on this site, 81% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Millinocket. The highest rating among the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 7, 1971, came within 20 miles. Of the 5, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on August 5, 2017. Of the 160 Maine cities, 84% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Millinocket. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 1961, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 160 Maine cities, 93% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Millinocket.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Millinocket
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | IreneAug 29 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 20 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 7 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 13 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 31 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormFeb 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 22 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 17 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 51 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 2 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 11 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 11 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 30 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 25 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 23 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormOct 5 | 12 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 9 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 17 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Millinocket: 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 Millinocket
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1970s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 1971 | F2 | 20 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1971 | F2 | 17 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1957 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 5, 2017 | EF1 | 4 mi | 2.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 1975 | F1 | 11 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Millinocket
The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Millinocket since 1961. Of these, 4 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 September 3, 2013. The most recent report is from September 3, 2013.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Millinocket
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Millinocket, ME, 2 miles east of Millinocket at 360 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 5°F. October is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 45.2 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 45.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 70°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 179 nights a year. Snowfall averages 86.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.2 inches is more than at 16 of the 47 Maine stations used on this site (34%). Lincoln, 23 miles southeast, has its own station (Lincoln Sanitary District/Wtp, ME): 44.3 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 5 | 3.1 | 6 | 23.3 |
| Feb | 27 | 6 | 2.7 | 6 | 19.1 |
| Mar | 36 | 16 | 3.1 | 7 | 18.6 |
| Apr | 50 | 30 | 3.7 | 8 | 4.5 |
| May | 64 | 41 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 74 | 51 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 57 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 56 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 48 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 37 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 43 | 27 | 3.9 | 8 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 3.7 | 7 | 16.6 |
| Year | 52 | 32 | 45.2 | 87 | 86.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Millinocket, ME (360 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 Millinocket
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 28 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Millinocket: 23 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $962,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 64 mph, on June 25, 2005.
April 30, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Millinocket — $481,000 damage.
NWS: “00 inches of rain and the melting of a record snowpack led to flooding along the East Branch of the Penobscot River near Grindstone. The river crested around 2 feet above flood stage.”
May 1, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Millinocket — $481,000 damage.
NWS: “00 inches of rain which fell in late April and the melting of a record snowpack led to flooding along the East Branch of the Penobscot River at Grindstone. The river crested around 2 feet above flood stage.”
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 Millinocket's ZIP code 04462 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $32,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% 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, 0 have fewer than Millinocket.
Penobscot County, which includes Millinocket, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 snowstorms, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on January 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Penobscot County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 16 Maine counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.1 million (58%), 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 Millinocket
- Lincoln, ME23 mi
- Milo, ME30 mi
- Dover Foxcroft, ME38 mi
- Guilford, ME41 mi
- Corinth, ME48 mi
- Milford, ME48 mi
- Old Town, ME48 mi
- Orono, ME50 mi
- Dexter, ME51 mi
- Houlton, ME53 mi
- Levant, ME55 mi
- Corinna, ME55 mi
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