Spring and Summer are months that bring the greatest risk of severe weather to develop.  Although severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes develop every year in Maine, the chance of severe weather to strike your yard is fairly remote.  Because of the lower risk of encountering severe storms, the risk of injury and death is possibly higher than in places where severe weather phenomenon is more common.

This is why at the beginning of every severe weather season, the National Weather Service urges everyone to review the safety rules for severe weather.  We encourage people to develop, practice, and maintain an emergency plan for your home and family. 

Severe thunderstorms bring not only the risk of tornado development, they also pose a significant risk of damage due to lightning, large hail, destructive winds, and flooding from torrential rainfall. Understanding thunderstorm risk is the first step in helping to keep yourself, your family, and your property as safe as possible.

When the meteorologist at the National Weather Service feels that conditions within the atmosphere is favorable for severe thunderstorms to develop, then a Watch will be issued.  The Watch will outline what the risk will be--Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, or Flooding.  It will give you an idea as to the most critical

time that severe weather is possible, and the counties that are at the greatest risk. 
When the actual severe weather elements are imminent, or are actually occurring, then the NWS will issue a Warning which will tell you where the storm is, where it is moving to, and what the greatest impact will be.

Hurricanes, although rare for New England, also pose a threat to Maine.  Even if the storm is in its dying stage when it reaches the area, it still can produce devastating damage from flooding.