Saint Francis, ME Hail Storm – July 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Saint Francis, ME area on 2025-07-03, with the largest verified stones reaching 1.5 inches in the morning and repeated hail reports continuing into mid-afternoon. The storm produced eight NWS hail alerts, with the first at 10:04 AM EDT for 1.5-inch hail and later alerts ranging from 1 inch to 1.25 inches.

The early phase was the most intense. At 10:04 AM EDT, radar and spotter data supported the 1.5-inch hail call. More hail warnings followed at 10:29 AM, 10:49 AM, 10:58 AM, and 11:35 AM EDT, each carrying 1-inch hail estimates. A 12:16 PM EDT alert raised the size to 1.25 inches on dual-polarization radar, then additional 1-inch alerts followed at 12:28 PM and 2:02 PM EDT.

Field reports lined up with that hail core and the broader storm track. At 11:38 AM EDT, a corrected hail report near Westfield described nickel-size hail with a few stones up to half dollar size. Later reports shifted from hail to wind and tree impacts. Spotters reported multiple trees and powerlines down in the Portage area at 11:42 AM EDT, six to eight trees down across powerlines in Grand Isle at 11:53 AM EDT, and trees and powerlines down in Madawaska at 11:42 AM EDT. Around 12:24 PM EDT, a tree was reported leaning on a powerline in the Caribou area. By 2:41 PM EDT, a 911 caller reported a tree down in the Howland area.

Damage Assessment

The field reports show a storm that left more than isolated hail marks. The damage picture includes downed trees, powerline impacts, and a leaning tree on utility lines across several northern Maine communities, with reports spanning Portage, Grand Isle, Madawaska, Caribou, and Howland. The sequence suggests a long-lived event with hail in the morning and scattered surface damage continuing well after the first warning.

The strongest hail report came early, but the later reports still stayed in the severe range. The Westfield hail report at 11:38 AM EDT confirmed half dollar-size stones in a spotter correction. That report came after the first 1.5-inch alert and before the 12:16 PM EDT 1.25-inch radar call, which kept the storm in a hail-producing mode through late morning and into noon.

The tree and powerline reports are concentrated enough to show a broader impact zone. Portage and Madawaska both had tree and powerline damage reports at 11:42 AM EDT. Grand Isle had six to eight trees down across powerlines at 11:53 AM EDT. Caribou had a tree leaning on a powerline at 12:24 PM EDT. Howland added a later tree-down report at 2:41 PM EDT. The timing places those impacts after the initial hail burst, with the storm still producing hazards into the afternoon.

What Contractors Should Know

This event spread across a wide slice of northern Maine. Crews working from Saint Francis through Westfield, Portage, Grand Isle, Madawaska, Caribou, and Howland should treat the line as a multi-community hail and tree-damage event, not a single-point strike. The strongest hail verification came early, but the surface reports show impacts farther down the path and later in the day.