Jun. 23—A rare tornado watch was issued Sunday by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, with the highest risk in Oxford County and parts of western Cumberland and York counties.

Unstable weather patterns marked by warm, humid air have created conditions where tornados could touch down throughout much of northern New England, although the risk was about 10%, according to the prediction center. The watch has been issued through 8 p.m. Sunday.

“Tonight’s severe weather is the most hazardous we’ve forecasted this year,” said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Gray. “We haven’t seen a setup like this in a while. This is rare for Maine, certainly.”

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont until 8 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/g2rYnUKydz

— NWS Gray (@NWSGray) June 23, 2024

Parts of Maine already were flooded with heavy rains earlier in the day, but more severe weather was forecasted for the afternoon and early evening hours and storms approached from the west.

A tornado watch only means that weather conditions can produce tornadoes, not that one will occur. If the watch is upgraded to a warning, those in the path are advised to seek shelter in the lowest level of a home, such as a basement.

Damaging wind gusts could persist even without tornadoes, and some areas could see hail. Conditions also could produce torrential rain for brief periods.

Palmer said humidity in the atmosphere, combined with wind shear, is creating powerful conditions. As of 4 p.m., the tornado watch had not been upgraded to a warning in any specific areas of Maine.

More than 6,000 customers in Brunswick and another 1,700 in nearby Harpswell lost power late Sunday morning, according to Central Maine Power, although that wasn’t related to the weather. According to information provided by CMP, that outage was caused when an osprey next came into contact with equipment on a transmission line in Brunswick.

“Our crews are bringing in specialized equipment to make the necessary repairs, and are working on switching circuits to restore some customers,” CMP said in a statement.

Once the storms move through Maine on Sunday, drier air is expected to settle on Monday.

This story will be updated

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