May 31, 1998 Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Outbreak

New York Damage--

The worst tornado started in southern Saratoga county, crossed northern Rensselaer county (both in NY), and ended in Bennington County, Vermont. It was rated an F3 where the most destruction occurred, and was an F1/F2 otherwise. 68 people were injured as a result, but no direct deaths occurred... as the NWS gave a 42 minute lead time of that tornado. Local news and radio stations immediately broadcasted the tornado warning...letting thousands of people get to shelter. One man died of a heart attack, which was brought on by the severe storms.

The tornado started at Ushers road, as an F3, in the town of Halfmoon, then traveled into Mechanicville, destroying a furniture company. The tornado continued to track over Viall Hill, badly damaging/destroying several housing developments. The Riverside area in the town of Stillwater was next on the tornado's list. Many homes, businesses, and several warehouses were heavily damaged or destroyed (including a grocery store which was one of several buildings that was completely destroyed). The tornado became an F2 as it crossed the Hudson river into Rensselaer county, and through the town of Schaghticoke. It continued on and followed the Hoosick river, crossing the village of Valley Falls, and brushing the northern parts of Pittstown and Millertown. The tornado track became discontinuous at this point, and intensity decreased to F1. However, when the tornado approached Hoosick, the track became continuous again, with wind speeds increasing to F2 intensity. Several farms received extensive damage here, including a dairy farm... where a 60 ton silo and barn were leveled. The tornado then tracked into Bennington County, Vermont. It quickly decreased to F1 intensity after crossing the state line. About 55 homes were destroyed and 230 damaged in Saratoga county alone. 50-60 more homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in Rensselaer county. There are two sets of good damage pictures to see of what is known as the Mechanicville - Stillwater tornado; set 1 and set 2.

In southern Rensselaer county, another tornado touched down about 2 miles east of Interstate 90, on Palmer road in the town of Schodack. The tornado passed just south of North Schodack, then moved by Millers Corners, to Pike Pond. It dissipated near Alps Mountain. Three barns were destroyed, several homes damaged, and extensive tree damage occurred along the path of this tornado, rated an F2 at the most intense time.

Another tornado, a minimal F1, touched down southwest of the Albany International Airport, and tracked very near the airport. Many trees were uprooted along the path.

Thunderstorm winds produced damage in every county in the Albany NWS CWA. In Washington county, at Easton, the fire house was damaged, which included the roof being ripped off. The thunderstorm winds also leveled a barn. In Herkimer county, south of the town of Herkimer, strong thunderstorm winds blew the roof off of a private airport hanger, and damaged two planes. A couple of outbuildings and a trailer were rolled off their foundations. Damaging thunderstorm winds were responsible for killing about 25 cows. The thunderstorm winds also caused widespread downed trees, power poles, and power lines. Tree damage was severe in some places. Crop damage was also quite extensive, especially in the mid Hudson valley, due to large hail ranging from dime to golf ball size. Hail damage just in this area was over $230,000!

The combination of a tornado and thunderstorm winds produced damage in Brocton (Chautauqua county in western NY). Most of the damage was caused by downburst, thunderstorm winds, but a tornado was briefly on the ground. Several large trees were uprooted, and three buildings had considerable damage - a house, barn, and a garage. Several other houses had minor damage, consisting of torn off siding and roof shingles. Large hail from dime to half dollar in size caused over $220,000 in damage, just in four western NY counties!

In south central New York (Binghamton's CWA), a tornado occurred which is now known as the "tri-county tornado". It started in Tioga county, crossed Broome county, and ended in Delaware county. The path length was an incredible 60 miles!! Numerous towns were in the path of the tornado, including downtown Binghamton. Its intensity varied from F0 to F3. The thunderstorm which spawned this impressive tornado was a classic Supercell. Large hail also fell with the severe thunderstorm. At times, it was documented up to 3 inches in diameter... which is larger than a baseball!!

The tornado first touched down in the town of Apalachin, and was classified as an F0, with winds from 40-72 mph. Large tree limbs were ripped out of trees, and tree tops were snapped off over hilltops. The back porch of a house received considerable damage. The thunderstorm moved into southern Broome county, with the tornado still on the ground. The town of Vestal was next in line to be hit, but luckily, the twister was still of F0 intensity. Trees, some large, were ripped out of the ground at this location. As the tornadic Supercell thunderstorm approached the Binghamton area, it intensified rapidly. The tornado below the thunderstorm base also increased in strength... producing F2 damage in Binghamton. Reports began coming into the NWS office just outside of Binghamton of "a large tornado in downtown Binghamton". The ABC affiliate television station in the city sustained major damage, obviously knocking them off the air. A tremendous television tower, 1000 feet tall, was twisted and toppled to the ground!! A large trash dumpster was lifted and blown into two satellite dishes, destroying them. The dumpster was then thrown 300 feet over an embankment! A sport utility vehicle in the TV station parking lot was rolled over several times! Another automobile was also moved from its original location. A video tape was carried more than 1 1/2 miles away from the initial location at the TV station! The actual building also sustained significant structural damage. In other areas of Binghamton, several trailers were leveled and others sustained damage. Two serious injuries occurred.

The tornado maintained F1/F2 intensity as it moved through Conklin and Kirkwood. Over a dozen homes sustained damage. Several mobile homes/trailers were totally destroyed in Conklin. Wreckage was strewn for a 1/4 mile! As the intense severe thunderstorm moved over the town of Windsor, the tornado lifted for a brief time. A few touchdowns that were very short were shown, and damage was of F0 intensity. Tree tops were twisted off in a few locations in Windsor.

As the severe thunderstorm moved past Windsor and into Sanford, the tornado stayed on the ground continuously again, and it reached F1/F2 intensity. A mobile home was destroyed, and a NYS power sub station sustained significant damage. As the tornado approached the Delaware county line, and the town of Deposit, it reached its maximum intensity - F3 - and appeared to skip along the hilltops with a few touchdowns on the valley floor. On Nelson Frank Road the most extreme damage occurred. A well built house was completely destroyed. The tornado began to weaken a little, lowering to F2 intensity, as it cross route 8 and approached the Cannonsville Reservoir. Still, several houses sustained significant damage. As the tornado moved farther east across Tompkins and Colchester townships, it weakened even further to F0/F1. These areas are heavily wooded, and all damage was to trees . The tornado kept F0/F1 intensity as it moved east towards Downsville. It skipped along populated areas, thus greatly reducing property damage. However, hundreds of trees were downed. The tornado finally lifted just east of Downsville with no further damage. In all, 12 people were injured throughout the tornado path, and damage totals exceeded 2.5 million dollars.

An F0 tornado with a 3 mile path length was confirmed in northern Delaware county, from Davenport to Fergusonville. Large trees were snapped/twisted off, and several houses received roof and siding damage.

Two tornadoes were spawned from another Supercell thunderstorm in central Chenango county. The first touched down in Plymouth township, at the Plymouth Reservoir. Although the tornado had a short path length, about 1 mile, it was strong - F2. It was also quite wide, up to a 1/4 mile. The difference between damage on the northwest side of the reservoir and the southeast side was phenomenal. While absolutely no damage was seen on the northwest side, extreme and complete destruction was noted on the southeast side. There were no houses in the direct path of the tornado, but houses on the outer edge of the funnel received minor to moderate damage... most from falling trees and limbs. A couple cottages had wind damage to roofs and walls. Damage to trees was massive though, with nearly every tree flattened on the southeast side of the reservoir by the strong tornado. Boats and small sheds, constructed of wood and metal, were also destroyed. A travel trailer was also completely destroyed.
The second tornado in the county was an F0, and was very brief... with a length of just a half mile and a width of around 225 feet. It touched down outside of Norwich, on state route 23, and it appears that the tornado moved east along or directly on route 23. Several billboards/road signs were blown down, along with numerous trees twisted and snapped off in all directions. A very large barn had some metal roofing blown away, and a few houses sustained roof and siding damage.

Two more tornadoes were produced in Otsego county. One started near Laurens and moved east to Milford township... making for a path length of nearly 5 miles. Damage ranged from F0-F3. Three people were injured. Thousands of trees were blown down, including numerous huge maple trees... 4 feet in diameter... which were snapped like toothpicks. Large sections of forest was wiped out. There was also numerous structures that sustained damage. At least three houses were heavily damaged, and one home was pushed off its foundation. One piece of property had parts of a large barn thrown hundreds of feet in all directions. One 2x4 came sailing through a house window. A refrigerator inside a demolished trailer was thrown 300 feet into a pond! Barns and silos were damaged or destroyed, and a few calves were killed. It appears as though there was as many as four vortexes for a time, as there was a few swaths of considerable damage directly next to areas that were left completely undamaged.
The second tornado in the county that day was an F0/F1, which traveled from just north of Portlandville to around the town of Maryland (path of length of less than a mile). Along the ridge tops, about 100% of the trees were down, with about half of all trees down in the lower elevations.

Besides the severe thunderstorms that produced the tornadoes, other thunderstorms produced just large hail and damaging thunderstorm winds across central New York. Believe it or not, the one death from the storms in NY were due to thunderstorm winds and not a tornado. You'll read about it later. Severe thunderstorms produced damaging winds and large hail in many locations, so only selected areas will be listed below.

A roof was torn from a silo in Augusta (Oneida county), and large trees and telephone poles were blown down in Covert (Seneca county). In Otsego county, numerous tree and lines were downed, and buildings were damaged. Many had windows blown out and roof damage. Transmission towers and large signs were blown down. Some roads were blocked. At least 15 people were injured as debris was sent airborne. A 32 year-old man in Oneonta was killed when a tree limb struck him... as it was being blown around by the thunderstorm winds. Reported damage exceeded $220,000 from the severe thunderstorms just in that county. In Steuben county, severe thunderstorm produced large hail between dime and golfball size. Cars near Andover had smashed windows. Damaging thunderstorm winds also snapped many large trees and utility poles from Hornell to Bath. Total damages was around $10,000, much of it from the hail. Large hail also fell in Chemung county, from Breesport to Elmira Heights. Hail up to ping pong ball/walnut size severely dented vehicles and cracked windows at an automobile sales lot... causing an estimated $30,000. In Tioga county, large hail up to golfballs severely damaged/destroyed hundreds of acres of crops in the Newark Valley area, and damaged numerous automobiles. Large trees and power lines were also blown down, and isolated roof damage occurred from the thunderstorm winds just west of Owego. The most trees were knocked down from Tioga Terrace to Apalachin. A radio tower was damaged in South Apalachin. More than $60,000 in crop and property damage resulted, most from the hail. Southern Broome county had its share of severe thunderstorms (not to mention the associated tornado described above) too. Trees and power lines were downed Chenango Forks, Vestal, Endwell, Port Dickinson, Johnson City, Windsor, Conklin, and southern Binghamton. Hail as large as baseballs also fell from this thunderstorm (although much of it was smaller, from quarter to golfball size). Widespread damage was caused by the large hail. Numerous acres of crops were wiped out, and many vehicles were dented. Over $175,000 damage resulted.

Power outages in central New York were extensive. Several areas didn't have power back on for a week! To sum up the whole event, the landscape of central New York was changed in a number of areas.

The severe thunderstorms moved into New England, causing damaging winds, large hail, and a few tornadoes. Several injuries and two deaths occurred in Massachusetts. Interestingly, the deaths and injuries were due to thunderstorm winds, and NOT a tornado. This is just another reason to treat severe thunderstorm warnings seriously!

Go here for a complete listing of all images/text available for this event.