NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Orrington, 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
35 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Orrington, Maine since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 30
- Tornadoes
- 6
- 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 Orrington
The strongest storm to pass near Orrington was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Orrington begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 35 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Orrington has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 88% of the 160 Maine cities on this site. The strongest of the 6 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on August 16, 1959; its path came within 25 miles. Of the 6, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 1991. Of the 160 Maine cities, 80% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Orrington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1985, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Orrington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 160 Maine cities.
Compare Orrington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Orrington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 10 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 20 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 7 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | CarrieSep 4 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | HeidiSep 14 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | GerdaSep 10 | 72 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1961 | EstherSep 26 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 31 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | EdnaSep 12 | 62 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormFeb 5 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 15 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 17 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 21 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 17 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 11 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 26 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 26 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 12 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 23 | 72 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 23 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormOct 5 | 35 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 9 | 62 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Orrington: 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 Orrington
By decade
- 1990s1
- 1970s1
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 1959 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1991 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 3, 1970 | F1 | 24 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1959 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 17, 1959 | F1 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1958 | F1 | 12 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 6 of 6, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Orrington
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Orrington since 1985, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on July 18, 2006. The most recent report is from May 23, 2024. July has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Orrington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bangor International Airport, ME, 6 miles north of Orrington at 148 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 9°F. October is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.8 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (22.4 of 41.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 35 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (20); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 74.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.8 inches is more than at 8 of the 47 Maine stations used on this site (17%). Eddington, 12 miles northeast, has its own station (Old Town 2 W, ME): 44.8 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 9 | 3.2 | 7 | 18.6 |
| Feb | 31 | 11 | 2.4 | 6 | 17.5 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 3.2 | 7 | 15.2 |
| Apr | 53 | 32 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.7 |
| May | 66 | 43 | 3.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 53 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 59 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 57 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 49 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 38 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 46 | 29 | 3.8 | 7 | 4.3 |
| Dec | 35 | 17 | 3.7 | 8 | 14.7 |
| Year | 55 | 35 | 41.8 | 84 | 74.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bangor International Airport, ME (148 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 Orrington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 60 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Orrington: 41 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 7 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $665,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on May 3, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 154 Maine cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 102 have had fewer than Orrington.
May 1, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Orrington — $481,000 damage.
September 30, 2015: flood 7 miles from the centre of Orrington — $159,000 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
Penobscot County, which includes Orrington, 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.