States › Maine › Penobscot County

Penobscot County, Maine

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 23019 · 152,765 residents (2021) · 3,397 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 113Tornado · 14Flood · 62Wind · 380Winter · 0

Penobscot County within Maine. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 579 events for Penobscot County, Maine, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 17.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Maine figure of 51.9, and 37.9 per 10,000 residents against 116.6 statewide.

6 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 9 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $5.7M.

FEMA has designated the county in 71 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storm And Flooding (major disaster, 30 Jan 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 238 claims since 1978, of which 171 were paid, totalling $1.7M (about $10K per paid claim). FEMA counts 194 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($41M a year across 18 hazards).

31 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

6events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

579events since 19500 deaths, 9 injuries recorded

71disaster declarationslast 30 Jan 2024

238NFIP flood claims$1.7M paid

Compared with Maine and the United States

Measure	Penobscot County	Maine	US
Recorded events since 1950	579	16,001	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	17.0	51.9	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	37.9	116.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	6	583	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	39	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.7M	$737M	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.6	4.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$10K	$21K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	3.6	19.4	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 2Tornado: 5

Hail: 4Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 4

Hail: 7Wind: 17

Hail: 16Tornado: 2Flood: 2Wind: 35Lightning: 3Other: 2

Hail: 34Tornado: 2Flood: 26Wind: 86Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 33Tornado: 2Flood: 19Wind: 158Other: 1

Hail: 16Flood: 15Wind: 79Lightning: 1

71950s51960s81970s241980s601990s1512000s2132010s1112020s

Recorded events in Penobscot County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 420 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 128 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind380

Hail113

Flood62

Tornado14

Lightning5

Other5

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	380	—	7.9%	detail
■ Hail	113	—	9.2%	detail
■ Flood	62	—	3.9%	detail
■ Tornado	14	—	10.0%	detail
■ Lightning	5	—	2.3%
■ Other	5	—	8.1%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
2 Jun 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	—	3	County
13 Aug 2023	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
17 Aug 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	1	County
6 Jun 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250	—	—	1	County
26 Jul 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
25 Jun 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	—	—	—	1	County
1 May 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
29 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
1 May 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
30 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
30 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
19 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
30 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
1 May 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
1 May 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
1 May 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$481K	—	—	—	County
23 Jun 2012	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$265K	—	—	—	County
30 Jun 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
13 Dec 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$219K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
30 Jan 2024	DR-4754	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
14 Sep 2023	EM-3598	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Lee	Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2020	DR-4522	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3444	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
2 Jan 2018	DR-4354	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
9 May 2008	DR-1755	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Sep 2005	EM-3256	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
1 Apr 2005	EM-3209	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
14 Mar 2005	EM-3206	Emergency	Snowstorm	Record And/Or Near Record Snow	Public assistance
26 Jan 2004	EM-3194	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
15 Jan 2004	EM-3190	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
14 May 2003	DR-1468	Major disaster	Freezing	Severe Winter Cold And Frost	Public assistance
16 May 2001	DR-1371	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
20 Mar 2001	EM-3164	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
13 Jan 1998	DR-1198	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Ice Storms, Rains And High Winds	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 1996	DR-1106	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Ice Jams, Flooding	Public assistance
11 May 1993	DR-988	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rain, Snowmelt, Ice Jams & Flooding	Public assistance
15 Mar 1993	EM-3099	Emergency	Snowstorm	Blizzards, Severe Winds & Snowfall, Coastal Storm	Public assistance
9 Apr 1987	DR-788	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Jan 1974	DR-410	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 May 1973	DR-384	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Public assistance
27 Feb 1970	DR-284	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Ice Jams & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Penobscot County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978238

Paid claims171

Total paid$1.7M

Average paid claim$10K

Repetitive-loss properties152 severe

Residential policies in force1940.4% of 55,291 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	1	1	$2,723	$2,723
2023	2	2	$46,384	$23,192
2019	2	0	$0	—
2018	1	1	$9,631	$9,631
2017	1	0	$0	—
2015	2	2	$14,212	$7,106
2014	6	1	$18,688	$18,688
2011	4	3	$42,942	$14,314
2010	4	4	$52,788	$13,197
2008	28	25	$312,543	$12,502
2007	6	4	$13,380	$3,345
2005	17	13	$92,699	$7,131
2003	1	0	$0	—
1999	2	1	$30,018	$30,018
1998	4	3	$16,533	$5,511
1996	4	3	$3,234	$1,078
1995	1	1	$563	$563
1994	7	4	$17,659	$4,415
1993	8	4	$10,145	$2,536
1992	1	0	$0	—
1991	4	2	$798	$399
1989	3	0	$0	—
1987	64	57	$916,155	$16,073
1986	1	1	$3,730	$3,730
1984	7	3	$2,767	$922

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 78.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$41MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$24,064,855
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$5,041,775
Winter weather	Very High	$2,839,605
Ice storm	Very High	$2,407,628
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,676,170
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,593,658
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,360,472
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$710,743
Tornado	Relatively Low	$626,608
Drought	Relatively Low	$304,388
Hail	Relatively Low	$279,849
Heat wave	Very Low	$201,586
Coastal flooding	Very Low	$22,404
Wildfire	Very Low	$14,352
Landslide	Relatively Low	$5,993
Avalanche	Very Low	$324

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles31

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	99 mi	46 mph
Irene	2011	85 mi	46 mph
Floyd	1999	79 mi	52 mph
Bertha	1996	92 mi	63 mph
Bob	1991	53 mi	69 mph
Gloria	1985	65 mi	58 mph
David	1979	71 mi	52 mph
Carrie	1972	71 mi	58 mph
Doria	1971	76 mi	40 mph
Gerda	1969	83 mi	81 mph
Brenda	1960	51 mi	40 mph
Donna	1960	96 mi	69 mph
Cindy	1959	90 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1952	97 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	99 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	84 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	94 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	51 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1908	17 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	36 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1900	69 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	14 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	26 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1894	86 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	94 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

04461 37
04401 33
04411 27
04460 23
04468 18
04423 13
04473 11
04475 11
04462 10
04448 8
04430 7
04457 6

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Penobscot County, ME?

NCEI records 113 hail events in Penobscot County since 1950, in 34 different years; that is about 1.5 recorded events a year. 16 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Penobscot County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 14 tornadoes in Penobscot County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Penobscot County?

30 Jan 2024: Severe Storm And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 71 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Penobscot County, and how much was paid?

238 NFIP claims since 1978, 171 of them paid, for $1.7M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Penobscot County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Penobscot County compare with the rest of Maine?

17.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 51.9 statewide, and 1.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 4.1. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.