Caribou, Maine, National Weather Service Office Issues First Tornado Warning in 783 Days

Brian Donegan
Published: July 20,2016

Days since last tornado warning by NWS office, as of July 19, 2016.

It had been 783 days since the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Caribou, Maine, issued its last tornado warning, but the streak ended Monday evening when one of the office's employees reported intermittent funnel touchdowns in far northeastern Maine.
Tornadoes are very rare in northern New England, but an EF0 tornado was confirmed near the town of Perham after storm surveys were completed on Tuesday. The state of Maine has averaged about two tornadoes per year (1991-2010), according to NOAA.

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Video from Perham looking north toward the funnel. Courtesy Krista Beaupre & Jason Cote. #MEwx

9:03 PM - 18 Jul 2016

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The tornado touched down at 5:40 p.m. EDT Monday evening and was on the ground for about 100 yards, according to the NWS. The maximum path width was around 30 yards, with sustained winds as high as 75 mph.
No injuries occurred as a result of the weak tornado, but numerous trees were uprooted along its short path.
(MORE: Storms Hit Iowa, Knocking Out Power to Thousands)

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NWS Caribou ✔ @NWSCaribou

Very short-lived EF-0 tornado confirmed from July 18 near Perham. More info...https://nwschat.weather.gov/p.php?pid=201607191645-KCAR-NOUS41-PNSCAR … #mewx

12:45 PM - 19 Jul 2016 · Maine, USA, United States

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In the Northeast, the New York City NWS office currently holds the longest streak without issuing a tornado warning. The last time that office issued one was 1,113 days ago – about three years – as of July 19, according to Iowa State University.
In the entire Lower 48, the Eureka, California, NWS office currently holds the longest streak; as of July 19, it hasn't issued a tornado warning in 4,965 days, or about 13-and-a-half years. The Medford, Oregon, NWS office is a close second with 3,984 days – nearly 11 years.
Tornadoes are extremely rare in northern California and southern Oregon. The cool Pacific Ocean water strongly influences the weather, which keeps the atmosphere too stable to produce a lot of severe weather, especially tornadoes.