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Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Metro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area is about the same as New York average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area is higher than New York average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #128
| Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area | 0.73 |
| 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, #129
| Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area | 0.0000 |
| 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, #657
| Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area | 75.03 |
| 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 17,181 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 16 | Cold: | 155 | Dense Fog: | 33 | Drought: | 122 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,610 | Hail: | 2,688 | Heat: | 196 | Heavy Snow: | 475 |
| High Surf: | 16 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 42 | Landslide: | 1 | Strong Wind: | 539 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 7,588 | Tropical Storm: | 5 | Wildfire: | 53 | Winter Storm: | 270 | Winter Weather: | 305 |
| Other: | 2,067 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 42.8 | 1985-10-19 | 4 | 6 | 40.98 | -73.83 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 23 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 9.5 | 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 |
| 16.6 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 19.5 | 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 |
| 19.5 | 1976-03-21 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°20'W | 0.10 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ulster | |
| 21.2 | 1989-07-10 | 2 | 41°25'N / 73°41'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Putnam | |
| 22.6 | 1986-07-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 74°28'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Ulster | |
| 24.9 | 1974-06-16 | 2 | 41°30'N / 74°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Orange | |
| 29.7 | 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 |
| 35.0 | 1950-07-14 | 2 | 41°16'N / 73°30'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Fairfield | |
| 36.1 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 36.9 | 1956-09-06 | 2 | 41°03'N / 74°06'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Bergen | |||
| 37.3 | 2009-07-29 | 2 | 41°14'N / 74°40'W | 41°18'N / 74°34'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 800K | 200K | Sussex |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF-2 tornado touched down in Wantage Township at about 248 p.m. EDT on the 29th. It was the first confirmed tornado in Sussex County since August of 1990, the first tornado of F2 or EF2 strength ever in the county since records started in 1950 and the first tornado to reach EF2 or F2 strength in New Jersey since the Manalapan tornado of May 27, 2001. The tornado remained on the ground for 6.6 miles before it crossed the border into New York State. Its maximum width was about 100 yards and its highest estimated wind speed was 120 mph. The tornado damaged thousands of trees, decimated acres of farmland and some rural property. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Route 519 and Rutgers Road, then crossed Libertyville Road, Snoyer Road and Ramsey Road, producing minor tree and limb damage along the way. More substantial damage, mainly in the form of downed trees and some minor structural damage, occurred after the tornado crossed New Jersey State Route 23 near its intersection with Unionville Road and Rose Morrow Road. The worst damage of the entire tornado occurred along Beemer Road and on the north side of New Jersey State Route 23. Substantial damage occurred to the Ricker Farm, as two barns and one silo were destroyed. Two other barns suffered severe wind damage. Some minor damage also occurred to the adjacent farmhouse. Pieces of one barn roof were found three quarters of a mile away. A two week old calf was killed by the flying debris, two others were thrown fifty feet, but not seriously hurt. Damage estimates for the Ricker farm reached as high as $500,000. Hundreds of trees were felled further north along Beemer Road, and power was out for several hours as power lines were brought down by the tornado and falling trees. The tornado weakened after it crossed Wolfpit Road and Black Dirt Road on its way into New York State. On Wolfpit Road, it ripped the porch from a home and lifted a boat and carried it one quarter of a mile away. A vineyard in the township was also damaged. The tornado crossed into Orange County, New York near Quarry Road as an EF-1. No other deaths or injuries were reported from this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front retreating to the north and a cold front approaching from the west produced strong to severe thunderstorms across New Jersey during the afternoon and early evening of the 29th. One EF-2 tornado also occurred. The wind damage and lightning resulted in about 57,000 homes and businesses in losing power. | |||||||||||
| 38.9 | 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 |
| 39.7 | 1972-06-09 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°46'W | 0.30 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Sullivan | |
| 40.8 | 1989-07-10 | 2 | 41°50'N / 73°20'W | 41°43'N / 73°14'W | 10.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25.0M | 0 | Litchfield |
| 43.4 | 1959-05-12 | 2 | 42°00'N / 73°24'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Litchfield | |
| 43.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 44.8 | 1962-08-07 | 2 | 40°56'N / 74°04'W | 2.50 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bergen | |
| 45.4 | 1971-07-19 | 2 | 41°06'N / 73°26'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fairfield | |
| 46.3 | 1970-07-15 | 2 | 40°55'N / 73°55'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Bergen | |
| 47.2 | 1973-06-12 | 2 | 41°37'N / 73°07'W | 1.50 Miles | 23 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Litchfield | |
| 49.5 | 2001-06-23 | 2 | 41°48'N / 73°07'W | 41°48'N / 73°07'W | 0.50 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Litchfield |
| Brief Description: A warm front, moving into Connecticut, produced a line of showers and isolated thunderstorms during the early afternoon of June 23. One cell developed into a supercell which then spawned two tornados in Litchfield County. The first tornado touched down in the northern end of the town of Washington, on a golf course near Lake Waramaug, cutting a path 50 yards wide and a mile in length. It hit during a lull of a golf tornament that was going on there, damaging the fourth hole of the course as well as destroying a metal fence around a tennis court. This tornado also demolished a storage building. This was ranked as an F1 Tornado, with winds estimated between 75 and 100 mph, by National Weather Service Personnel. The tornado also took out many trees around this area. The tornado lifted back up, but then reformed from the cell as the storm moved into the cities of Torrington and Winstead. This second tornado was ranked on the Fujita scale as an F2 with winds estimated between 100 and 130 mph. It touched down near the Torrington Middle School, over the Midget Football Field cutting a swath two hundred yards wide and a half a mile in length. The tornado destroyed an 8,000 dollar shed that had recently been completed by the Midget Football League. The second twister also demolished the bleachers and part of a roof at the Torrington Middle school. In addition, hundreds of large trees were uprooted. Powerlines were also destroyed. One person was injured when a portion of the blown off roof fell on him, resulting in bone fractures. | |||||||||||
| 49.5 | 1955-07-12 | 2 | 42°06'N / 73°22'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Berkshire | |
* 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.