Skip Maine state header navigation

Agencies | Online Services | Help

Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Tornado

Tornado


A “tornado” is described as a violently whirling column of air extending downward and seen as a rapidly rotating, slender, funnel shaped cloud that has a wind velocity of up to 300 miles per hour. At such intense wind speeds, a tornado can destroy everything along its narrow ground path.

Tornadoes and Maine:

The tornados experienced in recent history in Maine have been generated by severe summer storms. The southwestern and central sections of the State have been most often affected. Because of Maine's sparse population, there have not been significant amounts of property damage or personal injury. Mobile homes are most vulnerable to substantial damage.

Maine averages one to two tornadoes per year, typically touching down in uninhabited wooded areas. A tornado touched down in Phippsburg on Thanksgiving Day 2005, causing damage to trees and coastal homes and camps. In 2009, tornadoes were verified in Aroostook and in Oxford County, Maine.

What to Look For… Environmental Clues:

Tornadoes often occur with very little advance warning. The best way to be prepared is to stay tuned to television and radio for emergency messages from the National Weather Service. NWS messages may give as little as 5-10 minutes warning before a tornado forms. Be alert for:

  • Dark, often greenish sky
  • Wall cloud
  • Large hail
  • Loud roar, similar to a freight train

Some tornadoes appear as a visible funnel extending only partially to the ground. Some are clearly visible while other are obscured by rain or nearby low-hanging clouds

Tornado Safety:

At the earliest warning, go into a below ground areas at the earliest warning with flashlights and a radio and to remain there until informed that tornado danger has passed. Manufactured (mobile) homes are especially vulnerable and mobile home residents are urged to evacuate to the nearest frame home with a basement.

If an underground shelter is not available, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor and get under a sturdy piece of furniture.

  • Stay away from windows.
  • Get out of automobiles. Do not try to outrun a tornado in your car; instead, leave it immediately.
  • If caught outside or in a vehicle, lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression.

For More Information

Printer-Friendly Version | Return to Previous Page

 

Home and Family | Schools | Business | Community | Service Organizations