National Weather Service Confirms Oxford County Tornado

August 22, 2009

The National Weather Service in Gray, Maine has confirmed that August 21 storm damage in the towns of Norway, Paris, Buckfield, Sumner and Hartford in Oxford County, Maine was caused by a tornado.

The tornado touched down near Dove Way in the town of Norway, then moved east-northeast for about 16 miles through the towns of Paris, Buckfield and Sumner, and then finally dissipated near the intersection of Route 219 and Church Road in the Town of Hartford. The maximum path width of the tornado was about 700 yards (0.4 miles) observed along Route 140 in the Town of Hartford.

The tornado was rated as EF-1 on the Enhanced Fugita Scale with maximum winds estimated between 100 and 110 mph.

Tornado damage was observed near or across the following roads:

Norway:

Dove Way
Crockett Ridge Road
Pleasant Road
Ralph Richardson Road

Paris:

Durgin Road
Elm Hill Road
Military Road
High Street
Route 26 (Park Street)
Utility Road
Paris Hill Road
Ryerson Road
Dean Road

Buckfield:

Allen School Road
Darnit Road
River Road

Sumner:

Bonney Road

Hartford:

Route 140 (Sumner Road)
Carey Hill Road
Gurney Hill Road
Bear Pond Road (Route 219)

Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted by the tornado. In addition, numerous buildings were damages or destroyed by the tornado's winds or by falling trees. Also, many wires and utility poles were brought down by the falling trees.

This was the 6th confirmed tornado in the State of Maine in 2009. Maine normally averages two tornadoes a year. The last confirmed tornado in Maine was on July 18th in the Town of Bethel in Oxford County (EF-0).

To learn more about preparing for any emergency, visit MainePrepares.

To learn more about tornadoes, visit the National Weather Service site Tornadoes....Nature's Most Violent Storms

Contact:

National Weather Service, Gray, Maine
207-688-3216

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