Maine, New Hampshire, Has Had Two Tornado-Related Deaths Since 1950

Maine, NH Tornado Watch

First thing on Sunday morning, June 23, 2024, the National Weather Service out of Gray, Maine, issued a tornado watch for both Maine and New Hampshire, with predictions of the tornado-causing impact to hit more in the evening hours.

While no tornado activity was reported in Maine, outside of just severe thunderstorms that produced hail in some areas, throughout New Hampshire, various supercells and funnel clouds were seen forming in the sky in various areas, including what looks to be a very weak, possible tornado that touched down in Dublin, New Hampshire.

While Maine and New Hampshire aren't some of the first states to come to mind when thinking about tornadoes, according to the website HomeFacts, Maine sees, on average, two tornadoes per year, while New Hampshire actually sees just one per year.

But regardless of the lack of strength of Maine and New Hampshire-born tornadoes, both states do each account for one tornado death dating back to 1950.

Maine Tornado Death

About 70 years ago on August 11, 1954, according to the National Weather Service, an F2 tornado (which, according to Maine.gov, consists of wind speeds of up to 135 mph) struck just north of Caribou, Maine.

The storm destroyed two barns, and actually caused one house to be violently thrown into another house, which caused the one recorded tornado-related death in Maine history.

NH Tornado Death

Meanwhile, New Hampshire's only recorded tornado-related death happened much more recently, back on July 24, 2008. According to WMUR, the tornado caused a 50-mile path of destruction between Deerfield and Freedom, destroying multiple homes and communities and claiming the one Granite State death along the way.

Here's hoping those numbers stay that way until the end of time.