Tornado in Gorham?

Well, the weather in Maine is known to be strange at times, but this week it's gotten downright out of control. Wil of the "Where There's Wil, There's Always a Way" blog posts about the aftermath of what everyone seems to think was a tornado that swept through Gorham in the midst of Friday's torrential thunderstorms.

This isn't the first time Gorham has been subject to tornadoes. Back on October 18, 1855, a Mr. Niles was featured on page 2 of the New York Times in an article about the twister that moved his house for him.

Thus far it saved Mr. Niles a good deal of trouble and expense, for he intended to move his house back to the very spot where the tornado left it. But he was not quite so well pleased with the freaks the wind played with his barn: it took it completely apart and carried the timbers, boards, &c. up a hill some two hundred feet and left them there! [...] Mr. Niles and his family were in the house at the time of its sudden and unexpected removal!
[Source]

In sadder news, there were two fatalities from the storm due to lightning strikes in nearby Standish. Read the full story on the Portland Press Herald's site, which has a bunch of dramatic photos as well. Some of the sadness of these deaths is in their seemingly innocent cause. As reported by the Press Herald, "The man and woman were struck by lightning when they went outside to retrieve a pair of eyeglasses that had been taken by the family dog, according to the sheriff's department."