New York Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot New York Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in New York is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in New York is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #18
| New York | 0.58 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #14
| New York | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #36
| New York | 49.25 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 18,809 other weather extremes events from 1950 to 2010 were recorded in New York. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 1 | Blizzard: | 29 | Cold: | 211 | Dense Fog: | 4 | Drought: | 31 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,833 | Hail: | 3,015 | Heat: | 43 | Heavy Snow: | 776 |
| High Surf: | 17 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 54 | Landslide: | 3 | Strong Wind: | 783 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 9,131 | Tropical Storm: | 2 | Wildfire: | 4 | Winter Storm: | 361 | Winter Weather: | 192 |
| Other: | 1,319 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near New York.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 15 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in New York.
| Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 1944-09-05 | 5.6 | N/A | 44.75 | -74.8 |
| 1944-09-05 | 5.6 | N/A | 44.75 | -74.75 |
| 1983-10-07 | 5.3 | 13 | 43.94 | -74.26 |
| 1966-01-01 | 4.7 | N/A | 42.8 | -78.2 |
| 1975-06-09 | 4.2 | N/A | 44.9 | -73.57 |
| 1983-10-07 | 4.1 | 8 | 43.95 | -74.26 |
| 1985-10-19 | 4 | 6 | 40.98 | -73.83 |
| 1971-05-23 | 3.9 | 3 | 43.9 | -74.5 |
| 1967-06-13 | 3.9 | N/A | 42.9 | -78.2 |
| 1980-06-06 | 3.8 | 1 | 43.56 | -75.23 |
| 1981-11-21 | 3.8 | 6 | 41.13 | -72.56 |
| 1971-07-10 | 3.7 | 1 | 43.9 | -74.5 |
| 1981-07-04 | 3.7 | 16 | 45.11 | -74.61 |
| 1971-06-21 | 3.6 | 1 | 43.9 | -74.5 |
| 1981-10-21 | 3.5 | 6 | 41.13 | -72.56 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 78 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in New York.
| Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County | |
| 1973-08-28 | 4 | 42°25'N / 73°25'W | 42°22'N / 73°25'W | 3.40 Miles | 313 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Columbia | |
| 1985-05-31 | 4 | 42°01'N / 79°34'W | 42°03'N / 79°26'W | 8.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1989-07-10 | 4 | 42°50'N / 74°32'W | 42°47'N / 74°27'W | 6.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Montgomery | |
| 1989-07-10 | 4 | 42°47'N / 74°27'W | 42°34'N / 74°12'W | 18.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Schoharie | |
| 1989-07-10 | 4 | 42°34'N / 74°12'W | 42°24'N / 74°05'W | 13.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Albany | |
| 1989-07-10 | 4 | 42°24'N / 74°05'W | 42°23'N / 74°02'W | 5.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Greene | |
| 1955-08-30 | 3 | 42°20'N / 76°55'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Schuyler | ||
| 1960-06-24 | 3 | 42°48'N / 73°53'W | 42°55'N / 73°44'W | 10.90 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 9 | 25.0M | 0 | Schenectady | |
| 1961-05-15 | 3 | 42°06'N / 78°36'W | 42°06'N / 78°31'W | 3.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cattaraugus | |
| 1967-07-24 | 3 | 42°25'N / 78°40'W | 42°20'N / 78°28'W | 11.40 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Cattaraugus | |
| 1969-06-20 | 3 | 42°01'N / 79°38'W | 42°15'N / 78°48'W | 45.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1969-06-20 | 3 | 42°15'N / 78°48'W | 42°19'N / 78°03'W | 38.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1970-08-19 | 3 | 42°40'N / 78°53'W | 42°40'N / 78°49'W | 2.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Erie | |
| 1974-06-16 | 3 | 42°15'N / 73°50'W | 42°40'N / 73°48'W | 28.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Greene | |
| 1974-06-16 | 3 | 42°40'N / 73°48'W | 42°51'N / 73°45'W | 12.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Albany | |
| 1974-06-16 | 3 | 42°51'N / 73°45'W | 42°55'N / 73°53'W | 7.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Saratoga | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 42°09'N / 79°37'W | 42°19'N / 79°05'W | 28.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 2 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 42°02'N / 76°41'W | 42°03'N / 76°35'W | 6.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Chemung | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 42°00'N / 76°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Tioga | ||
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 42°03'N / 76°35'W | 42°03'N / 76°23'W | 9.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Tioga | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 43°10'N / 76°37'W | 43°10'N / 76°28'W | 6.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cayuga | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 43°14'N / 76°18'W | 43°15'N / 76°15'W | 3.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Oswego | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 43°10'N / 76°28'W | 43°12'N / 76°10'W | 14.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Onondaga | |
| 1983-05-02 | 3 | 43°29'N / 75°22'W | 43°29'N / 75°18'W | 3.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Oneida | |
| 1985-05-31 | 3 | 42°02'N / 79°14'W | 42°08'N / 79°09'W | 13.00 Miles | 177 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1988-07-14 | 3 | 41°20'N / 74°32'W | 41°20'N / 74°28'W | 7.20 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange | |
| 1998-05-31 | 3 | 42°55'N / 73°46'W | 42°55'N / 73°41'W | 4.70 Miles | 970 Yards | 0 | 68 | 60.0M | 0 | Saratoga | |
| Brief Description: During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in eastern New York. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front. This resulted in three tornadoes and severe thunderstorm damage in every county. The most significant tornado occurred in Saratoga County and northern Rensselaer County. This tornado touched down at Ushers Road in the Town of Halfmoon and moved due east into the City of Mechanicville. Here, the tornado intensified to an F3 and destroyed the DiSiena Furniture Company. The tornado tracked over Viall Hill where several housing developments were devastated. It continued east into the Riverside area in the Town of Stillwater, where many homes, businesses and several warehouses including De Crescente Distributing Company were destroyed or heavily damaged. The tornado then crossed the Hudson River into Rensselaer County and decreased to an F2. The tornado tracked across the Town of Schaghticoke and just brushed the Village of Schaghticoke to the north. Czub Grain Farm on Verbeck Avenue was heavily damaged. It then followed the Hoosic River as it crossed the Village of Valley Falls and into the northern portion of the Town of Pittstown to Millertown. At this point the track became discontinuous and the intensity decreased to an F1. In the Town of Hoosick the path became continuous again and increased to an F2. Several farms received extensive damage including Lukeland Dairy Farm where a 60 ton silo and barn were leveled. The tornado then tracked from extreme northeast Rensselaer County to Bennington County in southern Vermont where it quickly decreased to an F1 after crossing the border. Governor Pataki declared a State of Emergency in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties. The National Guard was called in by the Governor to assist in the clean up. In Saratoga County approximately 55 homes were destroyed and 230 were damaged. In Rensselaer County approximately 50 to 60 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Power was not restored to parts of this region for three to four days. Approximately 70 injuries occurred with this tornado but no one was killed. Another tornado tracked across southern Rensselaer County. This tornado first touched down on Palmer Road about two miles east of Interstate 90 in the Town of Schodack. The tornado moved due east and passed just south of North Schodack then tracked east northeast to Millers Corners on the south shore of Burden Lake. The damage path continued in this direction to Pike Pond before it dissipated at Alps Mountain. This tornado destroyed three barns, damaged several homes and produced extensive tree damage along its path. The last tornado tracked across the Albany International Airport. It began southwest of the airport about one-half mile west of Memory Gardens Cemetery. The damage path continued east northeast to the Albany ASOS unit where an 82 mile an hour gust was reported. Next it tracked near the Air National Guard facility at the Albany Airport before it crossed Interstate 87 and dissipated. The most widespread damage occurred near the Hilton Hotel where several trees were uprooted or sheared off. At Easton in Washington County, a microburst producing winds of 100 miles an hour took the roof off the fire house and leveled a barn after it was carried 60 yards. South of the Village of Herkimer in Herkimer County, a powerful downburst took the roof off a T hangar at a small private airport and damaged two airplanes. A couple of out buildings and a small trailer office were also rolled off their foundations. The severe weather caused widespread power outages across all of eastern New York. The damaging winds downed power lines, power poles and trees in many locations. Structural damage occurred to several homes and garages due to downed trees. Damage to crops was also quite extensive especially in the mid Hudson Valley and Capital District. Resources from the State Department of Agriculture and Markets were made available to many counties in this region. Approximately 25 cows were killed across the area due to either electrocution or collapsed barns. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 3 | 42°05'N / 76°03'W | 42°06'N / 75°29'W | 30.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 12 | 1.5M | 0 | Broome | |
| Brief Description: A tornadic supercell ripped across southern sections of the county between approximately 5:35 pm and 6:45 pm EDT. Tornado intensities varied from F0 to F3 along this path. Hailstones as large as baseballs and tea cups were also observed along the cell's southern and western flanks. A tornado which affected Apalachin in southeastern Tioga county crossed the county line and into the town of Vestal around 5:35 pm EDT. At this point, the tornado was rated as F0 intensity with the width of the damage path around 70 yards. Damage was primarily to trees with some large trees uprooted and/or twisted off over hilltop sections. As the cell moved further east into the town of Binghamton, the tornado intensified to category F2 with the damage width increasing to around 100 yards. In this location, the damage became increasingly severe with more structures affected. The local ABC affiliate in the town of Binghamton sustained major damage. A 1000 foot television tower was twisted and toppled to the ground. A large trash dumpster was lifted off the ground and tossed into two satellite dishes, then thrown about 100 yards further over an embankment. A sport utility vehicle was rolled over several times as witnessed by a television crew member. Another vehicle was also moved and a video tape was carried over a mile and a half away from the station. Several small trailers were also flattened in Binghamton just east of Ingraham Hill and others had minor roof damage. Two serious injuries occurred when a trailer collapsed upon the two female occupants who were in the kitchen at the time. Between approximately 6:20 and 6:45 pm EDT, the tornado moved further east through Conklin, Kirkwood, Windsor, and eventually to the Sanford/Deposit area. In the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood, the tornado maintained an F2 intensity. More than a dozen homes took on damage as the twister moved through. For the majority of these residences, damage was restricted to shingles and/or portions of the siding torn off or damaged from falling trees. However, there were several trailers that were nearly or completely destroyed within the direct path of the tornado in the town of Conklin. For one such trailer, its wreckage was strewn downstream for more than a quarter of a mile. As the twister moved into the town of Windsor, it briefly weakened to F0 intensity. At that point, touchdown locations appeared to be restriced to a few scattered spots with damage consisting of tree tops snapped or twisted off. Once the tornado reached the town of Sanford, it reintensified and reached category F3. A well built house was totally destroyed. The only part of the structure left standing was a small interior closet. Also, a wide swath of trees were flattened near a power company sub-station. Trees were twisted off and blown in all directions with hundreds of them estimated to be toppled. Local residents observed hail to 3 inches in diameter near the path of the tornado. Fortunately, as the twister reached its greatest intensity, it affected areas that were more sparsely populated. In all, county emergency management officials estimated damage totals near 1.5 million dollars. Dozens of structures were severely damaged or destroyed and thousands of trees were cut down. Twelve injuries were sustained in total with very fortunately no loss of life. In some of the more remote areas, it took the better part of a week to restore power. Two of the three local television affiliates were knocked off the air for a time on the evening of the 31st with several radio stations also suffering through service interruptions for up to three days. The towns of Binghamton, Conklin, and Sanford were put under a local state of emergency and also ultimately declared federal disaster areas. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front northeastward across central New York. A southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for severe weather that afternoon and evening as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From early in the afternoon until the evening hours, central New York was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, six separate tornadoes touched down on this day in central New York. The most devastating twister cut a discontinuous sixty plus mile track from southeastern Tioga county across southern Broome county and into Delaware county where it finally lifted back into the cloud base. This tornado alone damaged or destroyed more than 30 homes and injured nearly 20 people. Very fortunately, no fatalities occurred. Another violent tornado ripped through southern sections of Otsego county between Laurens and Milford. Thousands of trees were snapped off or uprooted with large sections of forest completely taken out. Several residences were leveled and many roads were impassable for days due to the fallen debris. The damage toll from this day's tornadoes ran into the millions. Several strong bow echo complexes also affected central New York. From southern Chenango county through the lower half of Otsego county, one such storm took out hundreds of trees and inflicted considerable structural damage in and around Oneonta. One man was killed in Oneonta when hit by a falling tree limb. Throughout Onondaga county, wind gusts estimated at 90 to 100 mph caused widespread damage early in the evening between 6:00 and 6:30 pm EDT. Two large transmission towers near Nedrow were toppled from the winds and many buildings had blown out windows and/or roof damage. Hail as large as 3 to 4 inches in diameter accompanied some of the tornadic supercells across New York's southern tier; smashing windows, severely denting cars, and causing crop losses. New York State Electric and Gas Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power during the height of the storms late that afternoon and evening. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 3 | 42°32'N / 75°06'W | 42°35'N / 74°56'W | 5.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 3 | 800K | 0 | Otsego | |
| Brief Description: A supercell thunderstorm became tornadic as it crossed southern portions of the county around 6:30 pm EDT. The storm cut nearly a 5 mile path from Laurens eastward into Milford township. This twister incurred major damage to heavily forested areas. Thousands of trees were laid out with the width of damage varying up to nearly a half mile in spots. Trees were blown over in a chaotic and almost circular pattern as viewed from aerial damage surveys. Several homes within the path of the twister also sustained heavy damage. In the town of Laurens, a well built home was nearly destroyed with only the back and a portion of the side wall left in tact. Many local roads were closed for up to 3 days as fallen trees made them completely impassable. This included portions of routes 12 and 44. The cell appeared to weaken as it approached Interstate 88 just east of Milford. County emergency officials estimated damage totals in excess of three quarters of a million dollars from this twister. Most of it stemmed from deforestation, repair of utility poles, and other repairs to homes and public structures. Three minor injuries were sustained from falling tree limbs and flying debris. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front northeastward across central New York. A southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for severe weather that afternoon and evening as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From early in the afternoon until the evening hours, central New York was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, six separate tornadoes touched down on this day in central New York. The most devastating twister cut a discontinuous sixty plus mile track from southeastern Tioga county across southern Broome county and into Delaware county where it finally lifted back into the cloud base. This tornado alone damaged or destroyed more than 30 homes and injured nearly 20 people. Very fortunately, no fatalities occurred. Another violent tornado ripped through southern sections of Otsego county between Laurens and Milford. Thousands of trees were snapped off or uprooted with large sections of forest completely taken out. Several residences were leveled and many roads were impassable for days due to the fallen debris. The damage toll from this day's tornadoes ran into the millions. Several strong bow echo complexes also affected central New York. From southern Chenango county through the lower half of Otsego county, one such storm took out hundreds of trees and inflicted considerable structural damage in and around Oneonta. One man was killed in Oneonta when hit by a falling tree limb. Throughout Onondaga county, wind gusts estimated at 90 to 100 mph caused widespread damage early in the evening between 6:00 and 6:30 pm EDT. Two large transmission towers near Nedrow were toppled from the winds and many buildings had blown out windows and/or roof damage. Hail as large as 3 to 4 inches in diameter accompanied some of the tornadic supercells across New York's southern tier; smashing windows, severely denting cars, and causing crop losses. New York State Electric and Gas Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power during the height of the storms late that afternoon and evening. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 3 | 42°04'N / 75°26'W | 42°05'N / 75°00'W | 30.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Delaware | |
| Brief Description: The same tornadic supercell that moved through southern portions of Broome county crossed into Delaware county in Deposit around 6:45 pm EDT. At that point, the tornado was still quite strong and maintained an intensity of category F3. Several more homes were severely damaged as the twister moved over route 8 and areas just west of Cannonsville Reservoir. Again, large swaths of trees were cut down and hail larger than baseballs was observed. Once the cell passed on to the east across Tompkins and Colchester townships, it weakened as tornado intensity decreased to F1. Significant tree damage was seen in both ground and aerial damage surveys along hilltop areas just north and east of Cannonsville Reservoir. Hundreds of tree tops were estimated to be twisted off with several utility poles also taken out in these areas. Further east towards Downsville, tornado intensity fluctuated between F0 and F1 with most of the damage to trees along ridge tops. Fortunately, the twister skipped along sparsely populated areas for the most part. As a result, structural damage and injuries were kept to a minimum. Once the cell reached the eastern end of Pepacton Reservoir, it weakened further with the tornado apparently lifting back into the cloud base. Emergency management officials estimated damage totals approaching a million dollars. The majority of the damage occurred in Deposit. The town of Deposit was placed under a local state of emergency for several days with this area also eventually receiving federal aid. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front northeastward across central New York. A southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for severe weather that afternoon and evening as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From early in the afternoon until the evening hours, central New York was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, six separate tornadoes touched down on this day in central New York. The most devastating twister cut a discontinuous sixty plus mile track from southeastern Tioga county across southern Broome county and into Delaware county where it finally lifted back into the cloud base. This tornado alone damaged or destroyed more than 30 homes and injured nearly 20 people. Very fortunately, no fatalities occurred. Another violent tornado ripped through southern sections of Otsego county between Laurens and Milford. Thousands of trees were snapped off or uprooted with large sections of forest completely taken out. Several residences were leveled and many roads were impassable for days due to the fallen debris. The damage toll from this day's tornadoes ran into the millions. Several strong bow echo complexes also affected central New York. From southern Chenango county through the lower half of Otsego county, one such storm took out hundreds of trees and inflicted considerable structural damage in and around Oneonta. One man was killed in Oneonta when hit by a falling tree limb. Throughout Onondaga county, wind gusts estimated at 90 to 100 mph caused widespread damage early in the evening between 6:00 and 6:30 pm EDT. Two large transmission towers near Nedrow were toppled from the winds and many buildings had blown out windows and/or roof damage. Hail as large as 3 to 4 inches in diameter accompanied some of the tornadic supercells across New York's southern tier; smashing windows, severely denting cars, and causing crop losses. New York State Electric and Gas Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power during the height of the storms late that afternoon and evening. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 1952-05-06 | 2 | 44°20'N / 74°00'W | 44°23'N / 73°55'W | 4.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Essex | |
| 1954-09-19 | 2 | 44°40'N / 74°43'W | 44°41'N / 74°40'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | St. Lawrence | |||
| 1961-05-09 | 2 | 41°48'N / 74°47'W | 41°50'N / 74°39'W | 6.80 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Sullivan | |
| 1961-07-07 | 2 | 43°00'N / 78°57'W | 43°00'N / 78°47'W | 7.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Erie | |
| 1965-05-16 | 2 | 42°06'N / 79°30'W | 42°06'N / 79°27'W | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Chautauqua | |||
| 1968-08-06 | 2 | 42°24'N / 79°05'W | 42°14'N / 78°30'W | 31.80 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1969-05-17 | 2 | 42°16'N / 79°16'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Chautauqua | ||
| 1970-09-27 | 2 | 40°42'N / 73°30'W | 0.50 Mile | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Nassau | ||
| 1971-07-29 | 2 | 41°25'N / 74°08'W | 41°29'N / 74°02'W | 6.20 Miles | 83 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Orange | |
| 1971-07-29 | 2 | 41°23'N / 73°45'W | 41°27'N / 73°42'W | 4.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Putnam | |
| 1971-08-23 | 2 | 42°55'N / 78°42'W | 42°56'N / 78°39'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Erie | |||
| 1972-05-02 | 2 | 42°44'N / 78°31'W | 42°47'N / 78°17'W | 12.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Erie | |
| 1972-06-09 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°46'W | 0.30 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Sullivan | ||
| 1973-08-28 | 2 | 43°48'N / 74°23'W | 43°46'N / 74°23'W | 2.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Hamilton | |
| 1973-08-28 | 2 | 42°54'N / 73°33'W | 42°55'N / 73°29'W | 2.30 Miles | 83 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Rensselaer | |
| 1973-09-18 | 2 | 40°39'N / 73°30'W | 40°40'N / 73°27'W | 1.90 Miles | 167 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Nassau | |
| 1974-06-16 | 2 | 41°30'N / 74°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Orange | ||
| 1976-03-21 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°20'W | 0.10 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ulster | ||
| 1976-06-11 | 2 | 43°19'N / 73°43'W | 43°18'N / 73°41'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Washington | |||
| 1976-06-16 | 2 | 42°41'N / 75°01'W | 42°41'N / 74°58'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Otsego | |||
| 1977-09-18 | 2 | 42°50'N / 75°42'W | 2.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Madison | ||
| 1986-07-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 74°28'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Ulster | ||
| 1986-08-15 | 2 | 44°17'N / 75°34'W | 0.20 Mile | 10 Yards | 1 | 3 | 250K | 0 | St. Lawrence | ||
| 1986-10-01 | 2 | 42°17'N / 74°34'W | 0.10 Mile | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Delaware | ||
| 1987-07-30 | 2 | 42°55'N / 78°46'W | 1.50 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Erie | ||
| 1989-07-10 | 2 | 41°25'N / 73°41'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Putnam | ||
| 1989-07-10 | 2 | 40°49'N / 72°47'W | 0.20 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 1 | 0K | 0 | Suffolk | ||
| 1989-10-14 | 2 | 42°30'N / 75°46'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 2 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Chenango | ||
| 1990-07-23 | 2 | 43°08'N / 75°35'W | 43°15'N / 75°16'W | 17.00 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Oneida | |
| 1990-08-28 | 2 | 42°30'N / 76°52'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Schuyler | ||
| 1992-07-12 | 2 | 42°26'N / 79°20'W | 42°29'N / 79°16'W | 4.00 Miles | 23 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chautauqua | |
| 1993-09-03 | 2 | 42°18'N / 78°01'W | 42°20'N / 77°58'W | 3.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Allegany | |
| Brief Description: The tornado first touched down and uprooted or snapped a number of large trees. A large annex to a barn disintegrated as the tornado passed by. The debris was scattered downwind across a field. A pickup truck was moved about 75 feet down a road and tossed into a pole. The tornado then crossed a field and uprooted a few large trees that all fell in roughly the same direction. A nearby house sustained significant structural damage and the entire structure was shifted slightly off its foundation. The tornado crossed a field and a stand of large trees. Many of the trees were knocked down in a very "chopped up" pattern. | |||||||||||
| 1997-07-03 | 2 | 42°24'N / 73°25'W | 42°24'N / 73°24'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 550K | 20K | Columbia | |
| Brief Description: On July 3, a fast moving cold front crossed eastern New York during the afternoon and evening hours. The front initiated many severe thunderstorms and three tornadoes in Columbia County. In Columbia County near Copake Lake, an F1 tornado produced minor damage to two houses, scattered parts of a barn across county highway 7A and downed many trees and wires. In Columbia County near Canaan, two tornadoes produced extensive damage. The F1 tornado formed just southwest of Beebe Pond, moved northeast and terminated near the intersection of state routes 295 and 22. The tornado damaged several residences and moved a car port. The F2 tornado initiated near the intersection of state routes 295 and 22 and moved eastward across the New York border into Berkshire County Massachusetts where it ended as an F1 tornado. At the County Caretaker Lawn and Garden Center, four large greenhouses incurred structural damage. On Shaker Ridge Road, a newly constructed three story home had the roof completely blown off along with the rear exterior wall. The detached garage was blown off the foundation and destroyed. Since this area is forested, many trees and wires were downed by the tornadoes resulting in power outages. At the South Albany Airport near Selkirk, thunderstorm winds destroyed a Cessna 172 and a vintage1940's Luscombe 8E. The winds also ripped a roof off a garage and downed several trees. In Schoharie County at Charlotteville, straight line winds rolled over a mobile home with five people inside. A second mobile home which was unoccupied was lifted on top of the rolled over mobile home. The five people sustained injuries. In Rensselaer County at Stephentown, thunderstorm winds lifted a barn and dropped it on East Road. Many trees and power lines were also downed by the wind. The thunderstorms also produced hail in parts of Schoharie, Washington, Albany and Columbia Counties. A combination of damaging winds and lightning, left fifteen to twenty thousand people without power across eastern New York. A lifeguard at the Northhampton Beach State Campsite in Northville was struck by lightning. The individual was hospitalized and released with no serious injuries. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 2 | 42°55'N / 73°41'W | 42°56'N / 73°16'W | 20.30 Miles | 970 Yards | 0 | 0 | 10.0M | 200K | Rensselaer | |
| Brief Description: During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in eastern New York. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front. This resulted in three tornadoes and severe thunderstorm damage in every county. The most significant tornado occurred in Saratoga County and northern Rensselaer County. This tornado touched down at Ushers Road in the Town of Halfmoon and moved due east into the City of Mechanicville. Here, the tornado intensified to an F3 and destroyed the DiSiena Furniture Company. The tornado tracked over Viall Hill where several housing developments were devastated. It continued east into the Riverside area in the Town of Stillwater, where many homes, businesses and several warehouses including De Crescente Distributing Company were destroyed or heavily damaged. The tornado then crossed the Hudson River into Rensselaer County and decreased to an F2. The tornado tracked across the Town of Schaghticoke and just brushed the Village of Schaghticoke to the north. Czub Grain Farm on Verbeck Avenue was heavily damaged. It then followed the Hoosic River as it crossed the Village of Valley Falls and into the northern portion of the Town of Pittstown to Millertown. At this point the track became discontinuous and the intensity decreased to an F1. In the Town of Hoosick the path became continuous again and increased to an F2. Several farms received extensive damage including Lukeland Dairy Farm where a 60 ton silo and barn were leveled. The tornado then tracked from extreme northeast Rensselaer County to Bennington County in southern Vermont where it quickly decreased to an F1 after crossing the border. Governor Pataki declared a State of Emergency in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties. The National Guard was called in by the Governor to assist in the clean up. In Saratoga County approximately 55 homes were destroyed and 230 were damaged. In Rensselaer County approximately 50 to 60 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Power was not restored to parts of this region for three to four days. Approximately 70 injuries occurred with this tornado but no one was killed. Another tornado tracked across southern Rensselaer County. This tornado first touched down on Palmer Road about two miles east of Interstate 90 in the Town of Schodack. The tornado moved due east and passed just south of North Schodack then tracked east northeast to Millers Corners on the south shore of Burden Lake. The damage path continued in this direction to Pike Pond before it dissipated at Alps Mountain. This tornado destroyed three barns, damaged several homes and produced extensive tree damage along its path. The last tornado tracked across the Albany International Airport. It began southwest of the airport about one-half mile west of Memory Gardens Cemetery. The damage path continued east northeast to the Albany ASOS unit where an 82 mile an hour gust was reported. Next it tracked near the Air National Guard facility at the Albany Airport before it crossed Interstate 87 and dissipated. The most widespread damage occurred near the Hilton Hotel where several trees were uprooted or sheared off. At Easton in Washington County, a microburst producing winds of 100 miles an hour took the roof off the fire house and leveled a barn after it was carried 60 yards. South of the Village of Herkimer in Herkimer County, a powerful downburst took the roof off a T hangar at a small private airport and damaged two airplanes. A couple of out buildings and a small trailer office were also rolled off their foundations. The severe weather caused widespread power outages across all of eastern New York. The damaging winds downed power lines, power poles and trees in many locations. Structural damage occurred to several homes and garages due to downed trees. Damage to crops was also quite extensive especially in the mid Hudson Valley and Capital District. Resources from the State Department of Agriculture and Markets were made available to many counties in this region. Approximately 25 cows were killed across the area due to either electrocution or collapsed barns. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 2 | 42°37'N / 75°36'W | 42°37'N / 75°36'W | 1.00 Mile | 1500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Chenango | |
| Brief Description: A supercell thunderstorm became tornadic near Plymouth Reservoir in Plymouth township around 5:50 pm EDT. Although the tornado's touchdown was brief, it still cut a large swath of damage nearly a 1/4 mile wide and mowed down hundreds of trees around the reservoir. A few homes on the outer fringes of the tornado's sphere of influence had roof and siding damage. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front northeastward across central New York. A southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for severe weather that afternoon and evening as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From early in the afternoon until the evening hours, central New York was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, six separate tornadoes touched down on this day in central New York. The most devastating twister cut a discontinuous sixty plus mile track from southeastern Tioga county across southern Broome county and into Delaware county where it finally lifted back into the cloud base. This tornado alone damaged or destroyed more than 30 homes and injured nearly 20 people. Very fortunately, no fatalities occurred. Another violent tornado ripped through southern sections of Otsego county between Laurens and Milford. Thousands of trees were snapped off or uprooted with large sections of forest completely taken out. Several residences were leveled and many roads were impassable for days due to the fallen debris. The damage toll from this day's tornadoes ran into the millions. Several strong bow echo complexes also affected central New York. From southern Chenango county through the lower half of Otsego county, one such storm took out hundreds of trees and inflicted considerable structural damage in and around Oneonta. One man was killed in Oneonta when hit by a falling tree limb. Throughout Onondaga county, wind gusts estimated at 90 to 100 mph caused widespread damage early in the evening between 6:00 and 6:30 pm EDT. Two large transmission towers near Nedrow were toppled from the winds and many buildings had blown out windows and/or roof damage. Hail as large as 3 to 4 inches in diameter accompanied some of the tornadic supercells across New York's southern tier; smashing windows, severely denting cars, and causing crop losses. New York State Electric and Gas Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power during the height of the storms late that afternoon and evening. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 1998-05-31 | 2 | 42°35'N / 73°39'W | 42°36'N / 73°31'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 175K | 0 | Rensselaer | |
| Brief Description: During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in eastern New York. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front. This resulted in three tornadoes and severe thunderstorm damage in every county. The most significant tornado occurred in Saratoga County and northern Rensselaer County. This tornado touched down at Ushers Road in the Town of Halfmoon and moved due east into the City of Mechanicville. Here, the tornado intensified to an F3 and destroyed the DiSiena Furniture Company. The tornado tracked over Viall Hill where several housing developments were devastated. It continued east into the Riverside area in the Town of Stillwater, where many homes, businesses and several warehouses including De Crescente Distributing Company were destroyed or heavily damaged. The tornado then crossed the Hudson River into Rensselaer County and decreased to an F2. The tornado tracked across the Town of Schaghticoke and just brushed the Village of Schaghticoke to the north. Czub Grain Farm on Verbeck Avenue was heavily damaged. It then followed the Hoosic River as it crossed the Village of Valley Falls and into the northern portion of the Town of Pittstown to Millertown. At this point the track became discontinuous and the intensity decreased to an F1. In the Town of Hoosick the path became continuous again and increased to an F2. Several farms received extensive damage including Lukeland Dairy Farm where a 60 ton silo and barn were leveled. The tornado then tracked from extreme northeast Rensselaer County to Bennington County in southern Vermont where it quickly decreased to an F1 after crossing the border. Governor Pataki declared a State of Emergency in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties. The National Guard was called in by the Governor to assist in the clean up. In Saratoga County approximately 55 homes were destroyed and 230 were damaged. In Rensselaer County approximately 50 to 60 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Power was not restored to parts of this region for three to four days. Approximately 70 injuries occurred with this tornado but no one was killed. Another tornado tracked across southern Rensselaer County. This tornado first touched down on Palmer Road about two miles east of Interstate 90 in the Town of Schodack. The tornado moved due east and passed just south of North Schodack then tracked east northeast to Millers Corners on the south shore of Burden Lake. The damage path continued in this direction to Pike Pond before it dissipated at Alps Mountain. This tornado destroyed three barns, damaged several homes and produced extensive tree damage along its path. The last tornado tracked across the Albany International Airport. It began southwest of the airport about one-half mile west of Memory Gardens Cemetery. The damage path continued east northeast to the Albany ASOS unit where an 82 mile an hour gust was reported. Next it tracked near the Air National Guard facility at the Albany Airport before it crossed Interstate 87 and dissipated. The most widespread damage occurred near the Hilton Hotel where several trees were uprooted or sheared off. At Easton in Washington County, a microburst producing winds of 100 miles an hour took the roof off the fire house and leveled a barn after it was carried 60 yards. South of the Village of Herkimer in Herkimer County, a powerful downburst took the roof off a T hangar at a small private airport and damaged two airplanes. A couple of out buildings and a small trailer office were also rolled off their foundations. The severe weather caused widespread power outages across all of eastern New York. The damaging winds downed power lines, power poles and trees in many locations. Structural damage occurred to several homes and garages due to downed trees. Damage to crops was also quite extensive especially in the mid Hudson Valley and Capital District. Resources from the State Department of Agriculture and Markets were made available to many counties in this region. Approximately 25 cows were killed across the area due to either electrocution or collapsed barns. | |||||||||||
| 1998-06-02 | 2 | 42°45'N / 78°15'W | 42°38'N / 78°03'W | 15.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Wyoming | |
| Brief Description: A tornado struck Wyoming county and did substantial damage to numerous structures and completely destroyed several others. Much of the damage done to this rural area included snapped and downed trees and wires. The initial touchdown of the tornado occurred in Orangeville just east of Orangeville Center Road. As the tornado moved east a barn was leveled on Hermitage Road in Orangeville. On Liberty Street a hanger with three airplanes and a helicopter inside, was destroyed and all four craft sustained damage. Also on Liberty Street a barn and modular home were leveled. The tornado passed south of the Village of Warsaw damaging two houses, a barn and a garage on Keeney Street. Another barn was leveled on Silver Springs Road. The tornado then followed near the border of the Towns of Perry and Castile damaging several sheds and docks as it crossed Silver Lake. The tornado touched down in the Village of Perry where it caused minor damage to eight mobile homes and major damage to five others. Several larger buildings also sustained considerable damage in the Village of Perry. The final traces of the tornado occurred on Middle Reservation Road in Castile where several buildings of a fertilizer plant were leveled. The total path length was 15 miles although the tornado was not on the ground the entire time. This was a slow moving tornado and was viewed by numerous witnesses. Several eyewitnesses reported seeing multiple vortices and in addition to being confirmed by amateur video of the tornado, from the aerial survey conducted several sections of the damage path supported this. No injuries or deaths resulted from the storm--remarkable since some of the buildings which sustained substantial damage were occupied when the tornado struck. | |||||||||||
| 1998-09-07 | 2 | 40°39'N / 73°41'W | 40°39'N / 73°41'W | 0.20 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 6 | 1.0M | 0 | Nassau | |
| Brief Description: The NWS confirmed that an F2 tornado was responsible for significant damage that occurred in Lynbrook. Most of the village received damage from straight line winds up to 80 mph, that was associated with a severe squall line. Downed trees covered the village with some structural damage where the F2 tornado touched down. The major path of damage was from the northwest section of Lynbrook east-southeast to the southeast section of the village. Funnel clouds were observed from near the intersection of Marshall Ave. and Burtis Street and to the southeast. A tornado was first sighted by two eyewitnesses on Hampton Place. It rose and touched down several times: Second, near Winter Street and across Glover Circle; Third, along Peninsula Blvd. between Earle and Benton Avenues; and Fourth, as a weak F2 near the intersection of Rocklyn Ave. and Merrick Road. It moved across the Long Island Railroad Tracks and Sunrise Highway before it finally dissipated. More than three hundred trees were blown over, many on houses and cars. Six people received minor injuries. Four of these were in "The Fun Zone" on Rocklyn Avenue. One woman was slightly injured by a tree that fell on her car. One police officer was also injured. An intense line of severe thunderstorms oriented from north to south developed during Labor Day afternoon ahead of a strong approaching cold front. As the storms moved east at 40 to 50 mph, they produced high winds, large hail, and an isolated tornado. Wind gusts from 60 to 80 mph downed many trees and power lines throughout the area. The cost estimates of damage included above are preliminary figures submitted by the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management. In Richmond County, the following peak wind gusts were reported: 80 mph at Great Kills, the Verranzano Bridge, and in Richmond. High winds downed trees and caused a building to collapse in Richmond. One tree fell on and injured a man in Richmond. In New York County (Manhattan), high winds caused a building to collapse. In the Bronx, high winds downed a tree that fell on 3 people resulting in 1 death and 2 injuries in the courtyard of the Edenwald Houses at 1135 East 229th Street. In Kings County (Brooklyn), high winds downed and uprooted several large trees. One tree fell on and injured a person at East 229th Street. Five to 6-foot diameter trees were uprooted east of Coney Island in the Gerritsen Beach Section, where 3 funnel clouds were also sighted and a firefighter was injured from large hail. Large trees also fell on and damaged cars in Bensonhurst. In Queens County, a peak wind gust of 62 mph was measured at both LaGuardia Airport and at JFK Airport. In Nassau County, the following peak wind gusts were reported: 75 mph in Farmingdale, 60 mph in Port Washington and Mineola and 58 mph at Farmingdale Republic Airport. High winds downed large tree limbs at Rockville Center, Baldwin, and Oceanside and downed trees in Long Beach, Massapequa, and Valley Stream. One-inch diameter hail dented cars and covered the ground in Farmingdale. In Suffolk County, high winds overturned many boats in the Great South Bay, downed large trees in West Babylon and Rocky Point and downed large tree limbs in Wading River. One person died when a thunderstorm wind gust capsized a 19 foot sail boat in Great South Bay near Copiague. A Centerport woman, 36, and her daughter, 3, were injured when a tree fell on them in the parking lot of the Ground Round Restaurant and CVS on Fort Salonga Road. The following peak wind gusts were reported: 72 mph in Babylon and 65 mph in Fire Island. | |||||||||||
| 1999-08-08 | 2 | 41°00'N / 72°31'W | 41°00'N / 72°28'W | 4.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 0 | Suffolk | |
| Brief Description: A cluster of severe thunderstorms formed north of an approaching strong warm front and moved east-southeast, just north of the front. A severe thunderstorm produced a tornado along the south shore of the North Fork of Suffolk County on Long Island. The tornado touched down and lifted several times along a 4 mile path as it moved east-southeast from just southeast of Mattituck Air Base, across Marratooka Pt., Kimogener Pt. (of New Suffolk), Cutchogue Harbor, Central Nassau Pt., then lifted as it crossed Hog Neck Bay. The National Weather Service Survey showed that the tornado touched down first in southern sections of Mattituck. This was in the backyard area bounded to the west by Marratooka Road, to the north by Center Street, and to the south by Park Ave. Most damage at this location was to trees, where many tops were twisted off and several snapped off at 5 to 15 feet above the ground. This was estimated as F1 damage. The tornado "bounced" and continued east to the dirt road extension of Park Ave., where it lifted the roof off a cottage at #520. The roof of the building detached from the house and was carried about 115 feet to the northeast. The tornado continued east for about 1/2 mile, then touched down again at 10 Kimogenor Point. It ripped off the porch and part of the main roof of the house. It apparently developed a few separate vortices at this location. One twisted a 100 year old metal windmill over high tension power lines and did some significant damage to large trees. Another vortex slammed into the front porch at 2 Kimogenor Point. It ripped off the porch and a large section of the roof of the house. The lone inhabitant said he saw a "wall of water" heading toward his house and instinctively dove into the stone fireplace to protect himself as the storm hit. Winds were estimated over 100 mph over this part of the tornado's path. The tornado continued east along Jackson Ave. causing havoc with many mature trees in the area. The most significant damage occurred in the vicinity of Jackson Ave. and Fifth Street, where winds were estimated from 110 to 120 mph, due to the devastation to many large trees. This was the area where F2 damage was observed. This was also the widest path width, which was estimated at 300 yards. The tornado continued east along Jackson Ave. creating F1 damage then went over Cutchogue Harbor. Eyewitnesses from Nassau Point (Little Hog Neck) said they saw the tornado over the water just east of New Suffolk. They saw several suction vortices rotating around the main funnel. The tornado moved across Nassau Point, in the vicinity of Wunnaweta Pond, where it twisted and sheared off many trees that fell on and damaged houses. It bounced again and hit close to the ground near #6225 and #6325 Nassau Point Road. Many trees fell onto and damaged homes. These backyards were on top of a cliff overlooking Hogs Neck Bay. The tornado lifted before hitting these homes. This was the last indication of tornadic damage. The latest cost estimates of damage from the Southhold Supervisor's Office are in excess of $1 million dollars. One injury occurred as a person was struck by flying debris. | |||||||||||
| 2000-05-18 | 2 | 41°49'N / 73°58'W | 41°49'N / 73°58'W | 0.20 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0 | Ulster | |
| Brief Description: A strong cold front crossed eastern New York late on May 18. At the same time, very strong winds aloft moved over the area. The combination of the instability, and lift ahead of the front, spawned a line of thunderstorms. These storm tapped into the strong wind aloft, to produce the largest outbreak of severe weather across eastern New York in nearly two years. While the vast majority of damage was from thunderstorm winds, there was also some hail damage reported, along with two confirmed tornadoes. It was the first time since June 1998 that a tornado was officially confirmed in eastern New York. Thunderstorm winds knocked down large trees a powerlines at several locations in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schoharie and Ulster counties. Dutchess county was especially hard hit. A line of strong to locally severe thunderstorms first moved into Montgomery County during the mid afternoon. Strong winds blew down large trees in Fort Plain. Then a microburst produced a swath of damage, 8 miles long, from west to east in the town of Canajoharie. The swath began at the intersection of Nestle and Clinton roads where a large barn lost its roof and two sides. Debris was blown over the adjoining house, landing inside a garage on the other side of the intersection, as well as up the road about 40 feet . A wooden silo located adjacent to the garage lost one entire side, thus collapsing inward inside the silo. The rest of the damage was mainly from snapped power poles and trees, as the path ended just west of Knauderack Creek, adjacent to Bower road. Trees and powerlines came down in Selkirk, Albany county, as well as Gilboa and Jefferson in Schoharie county. At Ballston Lake, in Saratoga county, a microburst sheared off 8 forty-foot trees at the 10 to 20 foot level. One tree damaged a house. More trees and limbs fell in Clifton Park. Another series of microbursts began in Ulster county about a mile northwest of the center of Esopus. They knocked down several clusters of trees as they neared State HIghway Route 9W, while moving in an easterly direction. Embedded within the microburst, an F1 tornado, touched down briefly to the east of Black Creek and 9W, less than a tenth of a mile south of the center of Esopus. The track of the tornado was about a quarter mile long and 25 to 50 yards wide with numerous trees pushed about 70 degrees to the left of the storm track. There was little property damage due to the tornado, but it was sighted by nearby residents. Meanwhile the series of microbursts continued across the Hudson river, into Dutchess county, blowing over over the estreme southern portion of Hydeo Park as well as the Poughkeepsie Yacht club in northern Poughkeepsie. Winds were clocked at 126 mph at the Poughkeepsie Yacht club. Several boats were overturned and damaged. A trailer was overturned. The roof was removed from the Yacht club. Damage from this microburst fanned out to a width of approximately one hundred yards, and a path length of up to a quarter of a mile. The wind overturned a car. The roof was removed from the Yacht club. Damage from this microburst fanned out to a width of approximatley 100 yards, and a path length of up to a quarter of a mile. A car was damaged by a falling tree in Hyde Park. A weaker F0 tornado, touched down in the Fairview section of the town of Poughkeepsie, about one quarter mile east of the Fairview Fire Station, on the leading edge of another microburst. The width was 25 yards, the length less than one hundred yards. Damage from the tornado was marginal, confined to downed trees and some minor structural damage to seven homes. Thunderstorm winds produced damage in many other portions of Dutchess county. Another microburst produced damage between County Route 83, just north of U.S. Highway Route 44, east to the village of Leedsville. Damage included destruction to a barn on the Bel Air farm. Many trees were down in a huge swath with this microburst. There were unconfirmed sightings of funnel clouds in this area. Many trees fell in Millbrook, which was described as a war zone. Large trees were uprooted in Clinton Corners and falling trees knocked powerlines down in Rhinebeck. In Pawling, a large tree fell on power lines, then crashed onto a car, causing extensive damage. Trees were blown across a power line, which then fell on Allyn's restaurant in the Town of Washington. Trees and poles were also blown down in the village of Fishkill. Winds were clocked to 70 mph in Stone Ridge, and 60 mph at New Paltz, both in Ulster county. Many windows were smashed or blown out of buildings at the New Paltz S.U.N.Y. campus. Trees were blown over in Ellenville. A tree fell on the mayor's car in that town, destroying it. Another tree damaged a historical home. A 60 mph wind gust was also recoreded at Kinderhook, Columbia county. Two 50-foot concrete silos of a coach barn in Gallatin, Columbia county were obliterated. A door was blown off a nearby house. In the promixity of Gallatin, a car was destroyed by a fallen tree. Huge trees fell on Schneider road in Columbia county. Many trees were snapped off their bases in East Taghkanic. Shingles from a roof were blown off in Cairo, Greene county and large trees fell on a house in and around the town of Phoenicia. A microburst uprooted many 22 to 24 inch diameter trees and snapped utility lines in the vicinity of Route 23, a few hundred yards north of the intersection of County Route 23A. Dime size hail fell at Kerhonkson, Ulster county. Pea-size hail was noted at Tivoli and Clinton corners, both located in Dutchess county. While property damage with the hail was minimized, hail took a toll on apple orchards. Many apples were partially damaged by small hail in Ulster and Dutchess counties that produced permanent indentations on the apples, making them unusable for sale. Total crop damage could easily exceed a million dollars. Lightning took the life of two horses at a farm in Ballston Lake. At the height of the storms, up to 52,000 customers, mainly in the Mid Hudson Valley region, were without power. A funnel cloud was noted by two on-duty meteorologists at the National Weather Service office at Albany. There were no human injuries or casualties, reported to the National Weather Service, in association with this large severe outbreak. | |||||||||||
| 2002-04-28 | 2 | 42°20'N / 78°07'W | 42°18'N / 78°01'W | 6.50 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Allegany | |
| Brief Description: Thunderstorms developed across the eastern Great Lakes region during the afternoon hours. The thunderstorms produced hail up to 1.25" in diameter in parts of Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Wyoming counties. The thunderstorm downburst winds ripped down trees and power lines. Scattered power outages were reported. Several structures and automobiles were damaged by falling trees. Wind damage was reported in Randolph, Panama, Ellery, Chaffee, Cuba, Portageville, Dansville and Henrietta. The thunderstorms spawned two tornadoes. In the town of East Concord, Erie County, a weak tornado briefly touched down. Damage consisted of a portion of the back and roof of an outbuilding blown away, a pier tossed across a pond, and tree damage. Winds were estimated between 70 and 75 mph. Another tornado touched down in Belfast, Allegany county, and traveled 6.5 miles into the town of Angelica. The greatest structural damage occurred near White Creek Road in Belfast where a two-story home, garage, and barn were destroyed. Other damaged structures along the path included a silo, a second barn, and minor damage to a second home where the siding was ripped from an outer wall. Winds were estimated at 115-135 mph. No injuries were caused by either tornado. | |||||||||||
| 2003-07-21 | 2 | 42°12'N / 73°58'W | 42°13'N / 73°52'W | 1.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 7 | 1.0M | 0 | Greene | |
| Brief Description: A large upper air trough dug across the western Great Lakes on Monday, July 21. At the surface, a deep low pressure area moved across the eastern Great Lakes, driving a warm front across eastern New York and adjacent New England. The air became very unstable in the warm air mass behind the front. The combination of the unstable air and strong wind shear aloft, produced the most significant severe outbreak of the season across the region, and the largest tornado outbreak since May 31, 1998. The first line of thunderstorms worked across the region during the afternoon hours. These produced spotty wind damage, mainly downed trees and wires across portions of Albany, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga and Schoharie Counties. Torrential rains falling in a very short interval of time caused flash flooding in the city of Schenectady. North Jay Street suddenly flooded and a woman had to be rescued from her car as it became submerged in about three feet of moving water. An even stronger line of storms moved east from central New York, into eastern New York during the evening hours. This squall line produced wind damage of its own, with spotty downed trees and wires across portions of Albany and Washington counties. Wind damage was more concentrated in Ulster and Dutchess counties. In Saugherties, Ulster County, downed trees flattened three cars. In Dutchess County, a large swath of trees were downed in the town of East Fishkill and in the town of Tivoli, a state of emergency was declared. One cell broke loose from the line, and became a supercell as it reached the Mid Hudson Valley. This storm ultimately spawned a long lived significant tornado. The twister initially touched down in southeastern Greene County, and produced a discontinous path of 17 miles in Greene County, 12.2 miles in northwestern Columbia County and 4.8 miles in southern Rensselaer County. The tornada left a swath of destruction including hundreds, if not thousands of trees uprooted and snapped away, along with lots of power and telephone wires. Many roads in each of these counties were impassable due to debris. The first confirmed touchdown was in the town of Palenville, Greene County. The tornado was ranked as F1 with a 50 yard wide path and on the ground for a half mile. An unoccupied home had its siding ripped off. Several other homes were severely damaged including a trailor. The tornado next touched downed in the hamlet of Kiskatom, in the town of Catskill, where it increased to F2 intensity and cut a path 150 yards wide and over a mile long. Several homes were destroyed along with seven injuries right off Route 32 in the Brookside Camp Grounds. Four people were trapped inside one of the trailer homes. Another lady was trapped inside a mobile home as it was lifted into the air then smashed into the ground. The woman was badly bruised but survived the ordeal. The next touchdown was in Athens with a rating of F0, and the last touchdown in Greene County was in Coaxsackie where a manufactured home was hoisted off its foundation, and had insulation pasted to the siding on the downwind side, which is typical of F1 damage. The tornado ripped across Columbia County with two touchdowns confirmed in the towns of Kinderhook, the Newtown Hook section in the town of Stuyvesant and the town of Niverville. The touchdown at Kinderhook Lake the strongest, with a ranking of F2. A barn was completely destroyed and the unfortunate farmer stated that some of his haywagons ended up in Kinderhook Lake. A garage was completely leveled and a car was tossed onto the tops of a blown-down tree. Another building had its metal roof partially peeled back. In Niverville, 11 people were given shelter as they were afraid to stay in their damaged homes. Straight-line thunderstorms produced additional tree and wire damage in the towns of Chatham, Hudson and Valatia. A state of emergency was declared throughout Columbia County. There was one injury reported by the newspaper in that county. The only hail reported with these storm took place in Stockpart, where golf ball size stones where reported. A state of emergency was declared in all of Columbia County right after the tornado past on by. The supercell and resultant tornado next touched down in the town of Nassua in Rensselaer County, near Route 20 with a rating of F1. The average width of the twister was between 75 and 100 yards and a discontinous path length of more than four miles. More homes and a garage were severly damaged but no injuries were reported. The roof on the Agway was blown off and a gazebo landed across the state highway in a pile of splintered wood. The NWS Survey team noted that the twister had multiple vortices in this area. Additional straight line damage was also noted in the same town. The last touchdowns were in the town of Schaghticoke with an F1 rating. During the height of the storms, as many as 63,000 customers were reported to have lost power in eastern New York, nearly 7,000 of those in Greene County alone. Power restoration was not completed until the following Friday. | |||||||||||
| 2003-07-21 | 2 | 42°24'N / 73°42'W | 42°24'N / 73°42'W | 1.30 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 1 | 200K | 0 | Columbia | |
| Brief Description: A large upper air trough dug across the western Great Lakes on Monday, July 21. At the surface, a deep low pressure area moved across the eastern Great Lakes, driving a warm front across eastern New York and adjacent New England. The air became very unstable in the warm air mass behind the front. The combination of the unstable air and strong wind shear aloft, produced the most significant severe outbreak of the season across the region, and the largest tornado outbreak since May 31, 1998. The first line of thunderstorms worked across the region during the afternoon hours. These produced spotty wind damage, mainly downed trees and wires across portions of Albany, Greene, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga and Schoharie Counties. Torrential rains falling in a very short interval of time caused flash flooding in the city of Schenectady. North Jay Street suddenly flooded and a woman had to be rescued from her car as it became submerged in about three feet of moving water. An even stronger line of storms moved east from central New York, into eastern New York during the evening hours. This squall line produced wind damage of its own, with spotty downed trees and wires across portions of Albany and Washington counties. Wind damage was more concentrated in Ulster and Dutchess counties. In Saugherties, Ulster County, downed trees flattened three cars. In Dutchess County, a large swath of trees were downed in the town of East Fishkill and in the town of Tivoli, a state of emergency was declared. One cell broke loose from the line, and became a supercell as it reached the Mid Hudson Valley. This storm ultimately spawned a long lived significant tornado. The twister initially touched down in southeastern Greene County, and produced a discontinous path of 17 miles in Greene County, 12.2 miles in northwestern Columbia County and 4.8 miles in southern Rensselaer County. The tornada left a swath of destruction including hundreds, if not thousands of trees uprooted and snapped away, along with lots of power and telephone wires. Many roads in each of these counties were impassable due to debris. The first confirmed touchdown was in the town of Palenville, Greene County. The tornado was ranked as F1 with a 50 yard wide path and on the ground for a half mile. An unoccupied home had its siding ripped off. Several other homes were severely damaged including a trailor. The tornado next touched downed in the hamlet of Kiskatom, in the town of Catskill, where it increased to F2 intensity and cut a path 150 yards wide and over a mile long. Several homes were destroyed along with seven injuries right off Route 32 in the Brookside Camp Grounds. Four people were trapped inside one of the trailer homes. Another lady was trapped inside a mobile home as it was lifted into the air then smashed into the ground. The woman was badly bruised but survived the ordeal. The next touchdown was in Athens with a rating of F0, and the last touchdown in Greene County was in Coaxsackie where a manufactured home was hoisted off its foundation, and had insulation pasted to the siding on the downwind side, which is typical of F1 damage. The tornado ripped across Columbia County with two touchdowns confirmed in the towns of Kinderhook, the Newtown Hook section in the town of Stuyvesant and the town of Niverville. The touchdown at Kinderhook Lake the strongest, with a ranking of F2. A barn was completely destroyed and the unfortunate farmer stated that some of his haywagons ended up in Kinderhook Lake. A garage was completely leveled and a car was tossed onto the tops of a blown-down tree. Another building had its metal roof partially peeled back. In Niverville, 11 people were given shelter as they were afraid to stay in their damaged homes. Straight-line thunderstorms produced additional tree and wire damage in the towns of Chatham, Hudson and Valatia. A state of emergency was declared throughout Columbia County. There was one injury reported by the newspaper in that county. The only hail reported with these storm took place in Stockpart, where golf ball size stones where reported. A state of emergency was declared in all of Columbia County right after the tornado past on by. The supercell and resultant tornado next touched down in the town of Nassua in Rensselaer County, near Route 20 with a rating of F1. The average width of the twister was between 75 and 100 yards and a discontinous path length of more than four miles. More homes and a garage were severly damaged but no injuries were reported. The roof on the Agway was blown off and a gazebo landed across the state highway in a pile of splintered wood. The NWS Survey team noted that the twister had multiple vortices in this area. Additional straight line damage was also noted in the same town. The last touchdowns were in the town of Schaghticoke with an F1 rating. During the height of the storms, as many as 63,000 customers were reported to have lost power in eastern New York, nearly 7,000 of those in Greene County alone. Power restoration was not completed until the following Friday. | |||||||||||
| 2006-07-12 | 2 | 41°04'N / 73°52'W | 41°08'N / 73°39'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 6 | 10.1M | 0 | Westchester | |
| Brief Description: A weak F1 tornado touched down in Grandview On Hudson in Rockland County at approximately 3:30 pm EDT. After damaging a dock on the Rockland County shoreline, the tornado moved east to northeast, about 3 miles across the Hudson River. The tornado over turned a boat near the Tappen Zee Bridge then moved across the western shores of Westchester County over the town of Sleepy Hollow around 3:37 pm EDT. Houses and businesses along Beekman Avenue, Depeyster Street, and Chestnut Street in Sleepy Hollow experienced roof and siding damage associated with an F1 tornado intensity. The tornado continued on an east to northeast track to the Sleepy Hollow High School. A 58 mph wind gust was measured at 3:39 pm near the periphery of the tornado track. As the tornado moved into the higher terrain of Pacantico Hills, the damage to trees and structures, which included the destruction of 2 small barns, indicated that the tornado intensified to an F2. As the tornado crossed Route 9A, significant structural damage occurred to the California Closet Building. In addition, a state trooper's vehicle was lifted briefly off the ground and a tractor trailer was blown over. As the tornado moved into Mount Pleasant and Hawthorne, extensive tree damage rated as a strong F1 was observed in the vicinity of Stevens Avenue. Minor structural damage and windows blown out were observed in the Summit Lake Industrial area. The tornado then moved into the Kensico Reservoir region across Routes 22 and 120 in the North Castle area. The path width was estimated at 200 to 300 yards based on the damage survey across Westchester County. | |||||||||||
| 2007-08-08 | 2 | 40°37'N / 74°01'W | 40°38'N / 73°58'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 9 | 0K | 0K | Kings | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This circulation intensified as it moved east across the Verrazano Narrows. The tornado re-developed by the time the circulation moved on shore in Brooklyn. Damage in the form of fallen trees and structural roof damage occurred in Bay Ridge starting in the area from Shore Road between 71st and 78th Streets eastward to Bay Ridge Blvd. This occurred at approximately 6:32 am. The tornado may have briefly lifted and then touched down again on Bay Ridge Avenue between 3rd and 4th Avenues, and continued on an east-northeast path across 68th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues. Eleven homes in this section had moderate to severe roof damage. The storm continued to move east-northeast into Leif Ericson Park Square, where severe damage to trees occurred. As the tornado lifted, it tore off the roof of the Nissan car dealership at the corner of 66th Street and Fifth Avenue. The tornado returned to the ground farther northeast, with scattered tree damage along 6th avenue. Based on the assessed damage in Bay Ridge, this tornadic damage is classified as EF-2 with estimated wind speeds of 111 to 135 mph. The tornado returned to the ground as another pocket of significant damage occurred on 58th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. The roof was ripped off of 5 homes, and tree damage indicated strong EF-1 damage. The tornado then headed east, and touched down for at least the fourth, but final time, in Kensington just east of the intersection of Church Avenue and Beverly Road at approximately 6:40 am. Numerous trees, approximately 30, were uprooted along Ocean Parkway as the tornado moved east. The tornado produced significant damage to trees and structures in the area with East 8th and 7th Streets being hit hard. Damage was reported as far east as Argyle Road. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 1/2 mile in this area before it lifted. EPISODE NARRATIVE: An approaching cold font, interacting with energy aloft, produced numerous thunderstorms, including one which produced two tornadoes across Southern New York City, and later produced wind damage in Nassau County. In addition, the storms produced copious amounts of rainfall which caused widespread significant flash flooding in New York City, including several subway lines, and Long Island. | |||||||||||
| 2009-05-16 | 2 | 42°45'N / 75°46'W | 42°46'N / 75°40'W | 5.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 50K | 0K | Madison | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A NWS storm survey team determined that damage in the county was caused by a severe thunderstorm that produced a tornado. Most of the damage along the path was to trees. Significant damage occurred approximately 1 mile south of the Village of Georgetown. A large barn was destroyed, a roof was torn off a house, several outbuildings and sheds were destroyed, and power poles were snapped. There was one injury at this location. A second farm on Upham Road was hit, destroying a large barn, a silo and a couple of sheds. Some livestock were lost at this location. A farmstead near Niles Road also received damage to a silo, and damage to the home's roof and siding. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front moved east across New York state during the evening. Ahead of the front, showers and thunderstorms developed. Two of the thunderstorms produced tornadoes, with other scattered severe thunderstorms producing reports of wind damage and large hail. | |||||||||||
| 2010-07-24 | 2 | 42°17'N / 79°35'W | 42°14'N / 79°27'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5.0M | 0K | Chautauqua | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An NWS ground and aerial survey confirmed an EF2 tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down in the Town of Chautauqua in Chautauqua County at 440 pm EDT. Initial touchdown occurred near the Chautauqua Gorge State Forest. The along the first half of the damage path the primary damage was done to trees. As the tornado neared Mayville substantial structural damage occurred to homes and businesses. Some of the affected streets included: McKay Road, Morris Street, Valley Street, and Erie Street. The tornado then crossed Chautauqua Lake. During the aerial survey debris from the structures could be seen floating in the lake. The tornado continued across the lake into Dewittville. There is caused damage at the Camelot Golf Course. Dozens of golf carts were lost. Structural damage was done to several buildings on the course. Also in Dewittville, the tornado severely damaged three condominium buildings, including 18 condominium units, at the Chautauqua Lake Estates. This was also the final touchdown of the tornado although debris was visible for about another three-quarter mile downstream. A NWS survey concluded an EF2 rating with winds estimated at 125 mph. The county emergency manager estimated damage at $5 million. | |||||||||||
| 2010-07-24 | 2 | 42°09'N / 79°01'W | 42°07'N / 78°52'W | 8.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 7.0M | 0K | Cattaraugus | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A NWS survey confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down in Randolph in Chautauqua County at 525 pm EDT. The initial touchdown occurred just south of Interstate 86 between exits 15 and 16. The tornado crossed Interstate 86 and damaged a gas station near exit 16???pulling the pumps out of the ground. The tornado continued across the Village of Randolph at its maximum size and intensity. The entire Village of Randolph lost power. About a dozen homes sustained significant structural damage in the village. The tornado continued for a total distance of about seven miles. Large trees were felled. Several automobiles were destroyed by falling trees. The final damage from the tornado appeared along County Rte 394 near exit 17 off I-86 in the town of Cold Spring. A NWS survey concluded an EF2 rating with winds estimated to 125 mph. The county emergency manager estimated damage at $7 million. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.