High Wind — Sagadahoc, Maine

2020-11-30 · Sagadahoc, Maine

Event narrative

The strong winds came in two waves across coastal western Maine. The first period featured strong southeast winds gusting at times between 50 and 60 mph. A brief lull occurred as steady rain moved north of the area. However winds shifted to a more southerly direction and increased again as showers moved back into the region after midnight. Additional wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph occurred during this time. Despite trees having dropped their leaves there were numerous reports of trees and limbs down along with a significant number of power outages.

Wider weather episode

A potent area of low pressure tracked to the west of the region over the Great Lakes region on November 30th. Out ahead of the associated surface cold front was a strong southerly low level jet of 85kts. The trajectory of this jet tracked directly over the Gulf of Maine Monday evening. These strong winds were able to mix down to the surface along coastal Maine bringing with them wind gusts up to 60 mph. Cold air damming across interior regions allowed for lighter winds speeds with most of the damaging winds gusts concentrated within 25 miles of the coastline. This storm brought significant power outages to the region with utility companies reported around 130,000 customers without power.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 928664. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.