Mechanicville, NY, Microburst of September 21, 1998

Isolated thunderstorms developed in much of the northeastern United States during the afternoon hours of September 21, 1998... ahead of a strong cold front. Conditions were not right for a larger severe thunderstorm outbreak, unlike on this past Labor Day. One of the biggest factors was upper air winds - they were not impressively strong, and to get a lot of damaging thunderstorms going, they would generally have to be. Still, a few of the thunderstorms became severe over the northeast, with the most notable one, in terms of damage, occurring over eastern New York State. As luck would have it, it would have to strike at Mechanicville - the site of the F3 tornado on May 31, 1998.

Southern Saratoga county into northern Rensselaer county were the areas hardest hit, namely in and around the Mechanicville area. Several thousand people were left without power. A roadside bilboard was damaged around Halfmoon, and two hay carts were overturned. A roof was blown off a new house, and the wall of a garage was blown in by the thunderstorm winds. Numerous trees and power lines were also downed, with some cars damaged and roads blocked. From Riverside to Mechanicville, many trees were snapped in half, and a roof was blown off a residence. Many other roofs of homes were damaged by falling trees. A car was hit by a falling tree, luckily not too large, and the two occupants suffered head injuries. Dime to quarter size hail was also reported with this thunderstorm in Mechanicville. It is likely that thunderstorm winds reached peak speeds of near 80 mph for a brief time in the most damaged areas, but were generally in the 58-65 mph range. Radar at 3:44 pm, the time of the most significant damage and injuries, showed the thunderstorm over Mechanicville... in extreme southeastern Saratoga county. The NWS in Albany issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 3:30 pm for the dangerous storm. The warning and three follow-up statements (severe weather statements) can be seen here. They hit this one right on the dot, as the warning stated that the severe storm would pass by Mechanicville around 3:45 pm... which is exactly what it did! See a radar image from 3:56pm as well, when this storm is still severe and causing damage.

The last damage from this thunderstorm occurred in the Melrose area of northwestern Rensselaer county. Numerous trees were blown down by 60 mph thunderstorm winds.

A National Weather Service survey team toured the area shortly after the damage occurred. The damage was officially ruled to be caused by thunderstorm winds (a microburst) -- not a tornado. See their statement issued during the evening.

A couple other severe thunderstorms over isolated areas of New Hampshire and Maine dropped some large hail. Dime size hail was reported in a few locations, with one spot reporting hail up to golfball size!

A complete listing of all images/text available for this event can be found here.