States › Maine › Waldo County

Waldo 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 23027 · 39,912 residents (2021) · 730 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 20Tornado · 3Flood · 41Wind · 69Winter · 0

Waldo 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.

Waldo County, Maine, has 139 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 19.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Maine figure of 51.9, and 34.8 per 10,000 residents against 116.6 statewide.

0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 3 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $3.1M.

FEMA has designated the county in 28 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms And Flooding (major disaster, 20 Mar 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 73 claims since 1978, of which 48 were paid, totalling $1.5M (about $31K per paid claim). FEMA counts 133 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($13M a year across 18 hazards).

36 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.

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

139events since 19500 deaths, 3 injuries recorded

28disaster declarationslast 20 Mar 2024

73NFIP flood claims$1.5M paid

Compared with Maine and the United States

Measure	Waldo County	Maine	US
Recorded events since 1950	139	16,001	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	19.0	51.9	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	34.8	116.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	0	583	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	39	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$3.1M	$737M	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.8	4.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$31K	$21K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	18.8	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

Tornado: 2

Tornado: 1

Hail: 4Wind: 3

Hail: 5Flood: 2Wind: 7Tropical: 2Lightning: 1

Hail: 5Flood: 29Wind: 27Lightning: 3

Hail: 3Flood: 2Wind: 21

Hail: 3Flood: 8Wind: 11

21950s11960s01970s71980s171990s642000s262010s222020s

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

Trend: 100 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 34 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

Wind69

Flood41

Hail20

Lightning4

Tornado3

Tropical2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	69	—	1.4%	detail
■ Flood	41	—	2.5%	detail
■ Hail	20	—	1.6%	detail
■ Lightning	4	—	1.9%
■ Tornado	3	—	2.1%
■ Tropical	2	—	1.7%

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
1 Jul 1968	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	2	County
7 Jul 1954	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	1	County
16 Apr 2007	Flood	Flood	—	$1.1M	—	—	—	County
6 Apr 2009	Flood	Flood	—	$619K	—	—	—	County
29 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$243K	—	—	—	County
31 Oct 2021	Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
2 Jul 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$193K	—	—	—	County
2 Jul 2004	Lightning	Lightning	—	$100K	—	—	—	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
20 Mar 2024	DR-4764	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
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
6 Jul 2023	DR-4719	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Mar 2023	DR-4696	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
15 Mar 2022	DR-4647	Major disaster	Coastal Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	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
2 Jan 2018	DR-4354	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
30 Jul 2009	DR-1852	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	Public assistance
9 Jan 2009	DR-1815	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
15 Dec 2008	EM-3298	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
9 May 2008	DR-1755	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
25 Apr 2007	DR-1693	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Inland And Coastal Flooding	Public assistance
20 Apr 2007	DR-1691	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
19 Sep 2005	EM-3256	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
29 Jun 2005	DR-1591	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, And Ice Jams	Public assistance
5 Feb 2004	DR-1508	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt And Ice Jams	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
27 Mar 1992	DR-940	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains, Ice Jams & Flooding	Public assistance
9 Apr 1987	DR-788	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Sep 1980	EM-3082	Emergency	Fishing Losses	Red Tide-Toxic Algae	Individual assistance
18 Jan 1974	DR-410	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Sep 1972	DR-356	Major disaster	Fishing Losses	Toxic Algae In Coastal Waters	Individual 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 Waldo County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197873

Paid claims48

Total paid$1.5M

Average paid claim$31K

Repetitive-loss properties42 severe

Residential policies in force1330.8% of 16,423 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	11	6	$617,348	$102,891
2023	1	1	$42,593	$42,593
2022	2	1	$62,412	$62,412
2020	1	1	$12,012	$12,012
2019	4	4	$196,977	$49,244
2018	2	2	$55,841	$27,921
2017	4	1	$21,454	$21,454
2016	2	2	$11,926	$5,963
2012	1	1	$1,360	$1,360
2011	1	0	$0	—
2010	2	1	$7,035	$7,035
2009	4	3	$112,217	$37,406
2007	4	3	$106,288	$35,429
2005	3	3	$43,935	$14,645
2003	1	1	$5,988	$5,988
2001	1	0	$0	—
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	1	1	$7,048	$7,048
1997	4	4	$141,207	$35,302
1996	1	1	$8,365	$8,365
1993	2	1	$2,937	$2,937
1992	1	0	$0	—
1987	7	5	$37,219	$7,444
1986	3	1	$500	$500
1983	1	0	$0	—

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 riskVery Lowscore 40.6 of 100

Expected annual loss$13MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$5,069,003
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$3,147,539
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,511,154
Ice storm	Relatively High	$971,479
Winter weather	Relatively High	$895,563
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$468,023
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$434,860
Drought	Relatively Low	$216,446
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$204,363
Earthquake	Very Low	$189,632
Tornado	Very Low	$159,505
Hail	Very Low	$89,253
Heat wave	Very Low	$64,586
Wildfire	Very Low	$6,629
Landslide	Very Low	$2,933
Avalanche	Very Low	$20

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 miles36

Tracks within 50 miles9

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	54 mi	46 mph
Hanna	2008	75 mi	52 mph
Floyd	1999	24 mi	52 mph
Bertha	1996	29 mi	63 mph
Bob	1991	28 mi	69 mph
Gloria	1985	81 mi	58 mph
David	1979	54 mi	52 mph
Carrie	1972	83 mi	58 mph
Heidi	1971	60 mi	46 mph
Gerda	1969	88 mi	86 mph
Esther	1961	48 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	55 mi	69 mph
Frances	1961	90 mi	52 mph
Cindy	1959	72 mi	52 mph
Edna	1954	71 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1952	61 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	38 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	59 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	79 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	75 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	39 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1908	69 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	57 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	56 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	30 mi	52 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

04915 30
04849 19
04922 9

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 Waldo County, ME?

NCEI records 20 hail events in Waldo County since 1950, in 14 different years; that is about 0.3 recorded events a year. 2 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Waldo County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 3 tornadoes in Waldo County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Waldo County?

20 Mar 2024: Severe Storms And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 28 declarations since 1953.

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

73 NFIP claims since 1978, 48 of them paid, for $1.5M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very 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 Waldo County compare with the rest of Maine?

19.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 51.9 statewide, and 1.8 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.