The early morning hours of this date featured the arrival of a strong Fall extra-tropical storm. This storm was interesting for many reasons, including strong winds and heavy rain. Downed tree limbs were very common, and several trees around Cumberland Country were reported down; some across roads and many leaving residents without power. School in several towns was canceled as a result of the power outage and dangerous winds. The morning commute hour coincided with the arrival of the strongest winds from this storm.

The official, NWS, rain observations from Portland indicate that a new record was broken on this date. The 24-hour rainfall record for Portland, on this date, was 1.23" of rain in 24 hours, set back in 1970. The official record text is below:

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
442 PM EDT WED OCT 15 2003

...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT PORTLAND...

A RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.63 INCHES WAS SET AT PORTLAND TODAY. THIS
BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.23 SET IN 1970.

In addition to very heavy rainfall over the region, a high-wind advisory was also in place for much of the day. Some coastal areas experienced high surf and very strong, tropical storm-force, gusts. Some observations from Southern Maine for maximum wind gusts during the morning of Oct., 15th:

Wind Gusts Reported:
Cape Elizabeth: 62 mph
Gorham: 50 mph
Portland Jetport: 47 mph
Mount Washington: 113 mph

The strong winds also did much to strip the trees of their leaves and needles. Because this strong wind event occurred around the time of the peak foliage, the season should be shorter than usual- all leaves not securely attached to the trees would easily be stripped with strong winds. Also, drivers in the Northeast should exercise caution when driving on wet, leaf-covered roads, as several layers of leaves can be as slippery as ice.