Maine coastal storm and flood of February 2, 1976

A business section of Bangor, Maine, was flooded with 12 feet (3.7 m) of water on February 2, 1976. The water surface elevation reached 17.46 feet (5.32 m) above national geodetic vertical datum of 1929 (NGVD), approximately 10.5 feet (3.2 m) above the predicted astronomical tide at Bangor. The unusually high water resulted from a tidal storm surge caused by prolonged strong, south-southeasterly winds which occurred near the time of astronomical high tide. Winds exceeded 64 knots off the New England coast. The resulting flood was the third highest since 1846 and is the first documented tidal flood at Bangor. This report documents the meteorological and hydrologic conditions associated with the flooding and also contains a brief description of storm damage from Eastport to Brunswick, Maine. Included are flood elevations in the city of Bangor and along the coast of Maine east of the Kennebec River. (Kosco-USGS)