Starlight, PA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Starlight is about the same as Pennsylvania average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Starlight is lower than Pennsylvania average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #1148
| Starlight, PA | 0.04 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.17 |
| 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, #1
| Starlight, PA | 0.0000 |
| Pennsylvania | 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, #2410
| Starlight, PA | 49.25 |
| Pennsylvania | 109.77 |
| 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 2,448 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Starlight, PA 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: | 1 | Cold: | 13 | Dense Fog: | 1 | Drought: | 10 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 334 | Hail: | 568 | Heat: | 13 | Heavy Snow: | 44 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 5 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 11 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,306 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 11 | Winter Weather: | 4 |
| Other: | 127 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Starlight, PA.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Starlight, PA.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Starlight, PA.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 19 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Starlight, PA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 11.8 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 12.0 | 1991-09-18 | 2 | 41°47'N / 75°28'W | 41°47'N / 75°27'W | 1.00 Mile | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wayne |
| 13.4 | 1991-09-18 | 2 | 41°47'N / 75°32'W | 41°47'N / 75°28'W | 3.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Susquehanna |
| 24.5 | 1954-04-17 | 2 | 41°40'N / 75°39'W | 2.00 Miles | 3 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Susquehanna | |
| 25.7 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 30.4 | 2010-07-23 | 2 | 41°36'N / 75°13'W | 41°26'N / 74°58'W | 17.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Wayne |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This was the third and most significant tornado touch down from the storm. The damage path begins three miles northeast of Honesdale. Significant tree damage occurred. Trees fell on an attached garage on Torrey Road. Barn roofs were peeled. The tornado intensifies as it moved along Dunn Road. Trees are snapped, uprooted and thrown in what appears to be two separate paths through dense woods indicating mulit-vortex. Several structures had damage from fallen trees. A fence was pulled out of the ground and strewn in different directions. The greatest damage occurred about 4 miles east of Honesdale and 1.5 miles west of Beach Lake where Dunn Road meets Route 652. Several structures were severely damaged or destroyed including a triple-wide trailer, two barns, and a commercial auto transmission business on Route 652. Here, winds were estimated to peek in the 110 to 120 MPH range putting it at the lower end of an EF2. The tornado continued to the southeast destroying trees on the west side of Williams Pond and Mud and Open Woods Ponds and then crossing into Pike County. It moved past Wolf Lake, Teedyuskung Lake, and Fawn Lake still doing EF1 damage to trees. The path begins to narrow and oscillate between EF0 with little damage to EF1 with trees snapped and uprooted. It crosses Route 590 (twice) and the Lackawaxen River east of Rowland and appears to dissipate over State Game Lands about 2 miles northeast of Greeley. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front lifted north into northeast Pennsylvania during the afternoon, putting the area into the warm and moist air mass of the warm sector, with temperatures in the mid 80s and dew points in the 70s. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of the front in this unstable air mass. Stronger storms developed across southeast Susquehanna county, with one storm in particular developing strong rotation as it moved southeast into Wayne county. This storm went on to produce four tornadoes and other significant microburst damage as it continued southeast through Wayne and into Pike county. | |||||||||||
| 30.8 | 1972-06-09 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°46'W | 0.30 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Sullivan | |
| 31.8 | 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 |
| 38.7 | 1998-06-02 | 3 | 41°37'N / 76°03'W | 41°34'N / 75°48'W | 26.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 2 | 15 | 2.2M | 0 | Wyoming |
| Brief Description: The same tornadic supercell that affected southeastern Bradford county moved eastward into northern Wyoming county around 10 pm EDT. Aerial damage surveys indicate that intervals of tree damage occurred from Meshoppen eastward to near Valentine Hill on the border of Lemon township. This damage was primarily in the form of twisted off tree sections at canopy level and also some uprooted trees on hilltop areas. Between 1010 and 1015 pm, the tornado lowered again down the east side of Valentine Hill, skipped across the far north end of Stevens Lake, and carved a path over a small hill just west of Lake Carey. Several residences along this path had heavy tree damage and minor siding and roof damage to their homes. The twister then seemed to temporarily turn towards the south and cross a portion of the long axis of Lake Carey. It was here within this small vacation community that the most severe damage occurred along with loss of life. Eyewitness accounts indicate that the tornado crossed State Route 1003 (a small causeway across the short axis of the lake in an west-east orientation) at about 1020 pm. Every structure located along this narrow strip of land crossing Lake Carey either sustained substantial damage or was completely leveled. It was here where two fatalities occurred as an elderly woman and her grandson were literally sucked out of the second floor of a house and thrown into an adjacent building. Every nearby tree was snapped off, uprooted, or otherwise toppled in chaotic patterns. At that point, the tornado made a jog to the left and resumed its eastward course. It crossed over State Route 1005, which parallels the eastern end of Lake Carey, then skipped up over a small hill. Again, heavy damage was inflicted upon homes in the path of the tornado both along the east end of the lake and also going up the hill. A dozen or more small boats which were anchored along the eastern end of the lake were thrown up out of the water and onto the shoreline. One home going up the hill towards the east was reduced to only its foundation and a portion of the back wall. Massive tree damage continued to be evident with a swath of trees cut down in a narrow path going over the hill and down its eastern side towards East Lemon township. A total of 42 homes in and around Lake Carey suffered considerable damage or were totally destroyed. The character of damage in this area indicates that the tornado strengthened and reached F3 intensity. The damage path was over a third of a mile wide at times. As the tornado pushed further to the east through East Lemon township, it encountered more rugged terrain and less populated areas. Still, however, it did encounter three additional homes and heavily damaged all of them. One had its roof completely torn away and its garage flattened. Another had its back deck destroyed and all of the back windows blown out. Swaths of tree damage were interspersed amongst these houses. Fortunately, two of the homes were unoccupied at the time with only one other minor injury associated with the storm in East Lemon township. The tornado was rated as F2 intensity at this point with damage widths varying from 250 to 400 yards. As the cell approached Factoryville and the Lackawanna county line after 1035 pm EDT, it weakened a bit with the tornado skipping over hilltop sections for the most part. Mostly tree damage was evident from aerial surveys between Route 92 and Lake Sheridan. The tornado's intensity had decreased to F1 along this segment of its path with the width of damage narrowing to under 100 yards in spots. In total, county emergency management officials estimated that in excess of 2 million dollars worth of damage was incurred with over 50 homes destroyed or heavily damaged. Fifteen injuries were directly tied to the tornado along with the two deaths mentioned earlier. M35PH, F72PH For the second time in three days, significant severe weather including tornadoes affected northeastern Pennsylvania. The primary focusing mechanisms were a strong mid level shortwave and surface cold front that approached the region during the evening of the 2nd. Strongly veering wind profiles that increased with height contributed significantly to the development of tornadic supercells. Two long tracked supercells produced tornadic damage across northeastern Pennsylvania during this event. The first tornado touched down in southwestern Susquehanna county in Auburn towship just after 9 pm EDT. This tornado tracked along a 12 mile path through Springville and Lathrop townships. Several mobile homes were damaged or destroyed and the roof of a small storage building was torn away. The twister also cut down scores of trees along the way. Its intensity was rated as F1. Fortunately, no injuries resulted. The other twister tracked along approximately a 35 mile path from extreme southeastern Bradford county across the length of northern Wyoming county and into northwestern Lackawanna county before weakening. The most devastation occurred in the small vacation community of Lake Carey in Wyoming county. The tornado strengthened to F3 intensity at Lake Carey and killed two people and injured a total of fifteen. More than 40 homes immediately surrounding the lake were either heavily damaged or destroyed. Additional residences were damaged or leveled further to the east through East Lemon township in northern Wyoming county. Isolated structural damage and considerable tree damage was the rule from Terry township in Bradford county eastward to just west of Lake Carey and also from East Lemon township eastward to near Lackawanna State Park where the tornado finally dissipated. In all, over 50 homes were damaged or destroyed and total damage estimates in the three county area exceeded three million dollars. Other smaller scale bow echo complexes produced widespread wind damage in the form of downed trees and power lines primarily across the northern tier counties and sections of the Poconos. Portions of Bradford, Susquehanna, and Wayne counties were without power for most of the night as electrical crews could not keep up with reports of downed wires. The most severely damaged areas including the Lake Carey vicinity needed assistance from the National Gaurd to clean up excess debris and help with repairs. Much of northeastern Pennsylvania qualified for federal disaster assistance. | |||||||||||
| 39.4 | 1998-05-31 | 2 | 41°22'N / 75°10'W | 41°22'N / 75°08'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 400K | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: A severe thunderstorm became tornadic just south of Interstate 84 and east of Tarey Hill in Blooming Grove township around 8:20 pm EDT. The tornado cut approximately a 3 mile by 200 yard path paralleling Interstate 84. The twister moved through heavily forested areas and mowed down hundreds of trees in its path. Again, many of the trees were quite sizeable and appeared to be toppled easily. The damage pattern was circular in spots as viewed by aerial surveys. Fortunately, little in the way of houses or populated regions were in the path of this particular tornado. The tornado's intensity seemed to fluctuate between F1 and F2. The tornado lifted back up just east of route 739 near Cranberry Ridge as little in the way of damage was seen downstream of this point. Several local roads were closed for up to 24 hours from fallen trees. 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 across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 40.7 | 1998-05-31 | 2 | 41°20'N / 75°12'W | 41°21'N / 75°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: The tornadic supercell that affected southern Wayne county a bit earlier in the evening continued eastward into Pike county. A tornado touched down briefly in Promised Land and then plowed through portions of Promised Land State Park before temporarily lifting into the cloud base. The twister cut approximately a 2 mile by 500 yard path through heavily forested areas of the park. Camp sites were littered with trees as the tornado cut down hundreds of them. Some of the trees were very sizeable and they were still chopped down or twisted off quite easily as evidenced by ground and aerial post storm surveys. A few homes near the path of the twister sustained minor to moderate damage from falling trees. Fortunately, camp grounds and vacation homes were largely unoccupied when the tornado struck. The tornado appeared to be near ground level for only a few minutes as the damage path became discontinuous again just east of the park. 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 across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 44.8 | 1954-09-19 | 2 | 41°50'N / 76°11'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Bradford | |
| 45.7 | 1988-08-28 | 2 | 41°34'N / 76°04'W | 1.50 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Wyoming | |
| 45.9 | 1986-10-01 | 2 | 42°17'N / 74°34'W | 0.10 Mile | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Delaware | |
| 46.0 | 1989-10-14 | 2 | 42°30'N / 75°46'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 2 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Chenango | |
| 46.0 | 1960-07-04 | 2 | 41°20'N / 75°44'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Luzerne | |||
| 46.5 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 48.5 | 1998-05-31 | 3 | 41°18'N / 75°06'W | 41°14'N / 74°52'W | 20.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: The cell that produced tornadic damage earlier both in southern Wayne county and just upstream in Promised Land State Park dropped a tornado once again across the southern and southeastern portions of Pike county. A nearly continuous 20 mile path was uncovered via aerial storm surveys from Pecks Pond east-southeastward to near route 739 in Delaware township. The average width of the damage path was about 200 yards. The twister descended once again in the Pecks Pond area around 8:20 pm EDT. At that point, the intensity was rated as F2 as the tornado cut down nearly every tree in its path on its way towards Blue Heron Lake. At approximately 8:30 pm, the tornado struck the small vacation community surrounding Blue Heron Lake. A summer home was leveled by the force of the twister. The only things left standing were an interior wall and a few sturdy metal cabinets on the floor in the kitchen. An adjacent mobile home was severely damaged as well. Two campers near this area had minor injuries from falling tree limbs. Otherwise, though, injuries were kept to a minimum as homes were mostly vacant. In addition, an estimated thousands of trees were sheared off or toppled bordering Blue Heron Lake both to the west and east. The twister's intensity increased at this point to F3. Further downstream, the tornado continued to cut a consistent path of twisted off and/or uprooted trees across the Little Mud Pond, Silver Lake, and Deer Leap Factory areas. The tornado appeared to skip across hilltop sections along this route with its intensity mainly in the F1 range. Finally, just before 8:45 pm EDT, the tornado ascended once again in Delaware township as little in the way of damage was evident between route 739 and the Delaware River. In all, emergency management and federal officials estimated that in excess of 1 million dollars damage was incurred along this approximately 20 mile path. Many roads were closed as they became impassable due to fallen trees and wires. Portions of routes 402 and 390 were closed for several days. In addition, sections of Promised Land State Park were closed off to the public for about two weeks until all debris was cleared away and power was restored. 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 across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 49.3 | 1986-07-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 74°28'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Ulster | |
* 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.