Thunderstorm Wind — Kennebec, Maine

2021-06-30 · near Belgrade Lakes, Kennebec, Maine

Event narrative

A severe thunderstorm passed through the Belgrade Lakes region on Wednesday afternoon, producing a wet microburst. Estimated wind speeds varied from 60 mph up to 90 mph. There was a concentrated damage swath about 2 miles long beginning along the eastern shore of long pond just north of Belgrade Village. The damage ended on Abena Shore Rd. to the southeast of Belgrade Village. Approximately 300 trees were uprooted and snapped with the heaviest pockets of damage immediately on the eastern shorelines of Long Pond and Hersom Point on great pond. In addition to the tree damage, approximately 6 buildings were partially damaged due to trees falling on them. An additional building had shingle damage directly caused by the wind. Two vehicles were damaged when trees fell on them. One fatality occurred when a tree fell on a pedestrian in a parked vehicle. The tree damage was extensive with many old growth white pines, oaks and willows being uprooted and or snapped. Power outages were extensive in the area with many snapped poles and downed lines.

Wider weather episode

A hot and humid airmass with heat index values well into the 90s was firmly in place when an upper level trough and associated cold front begin to move into western Maine on the afternoon of June 30th. Storms began to develop and quickly became severe due to very unstable conditions being fueled by the near record heat and humidity. The storms traveled from west to east straight to the coast through the afternoon hours, leaving in their wake downed trees and power outages. A particular damaging storm impacted the Belgrade Lakes region with 100s of down trees and property damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.5346, -69.8901)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 969321. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.