New York, 1985

Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 31, 1985

May 31, 1985 · 28 events in 15 counties and zones

16 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
10
Property damage
$5.3 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
28

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

16 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Chautauqua

When
May 31, 3:55 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Rating
F4
Path length
8 mi
Path width
440 yd
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
42.020, -79.570

Hail, Chautauqua

When
May 31, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
42.020, -79.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Niagara

When
May 31, 4:09 PM CST
Where
Niagara County
Measured
51 kt (59 mph)
Coordinates
43.100, -78.950

Hail, Niagara

When
May 31, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Niagara County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
43.330, -78.720

Hail, Niagara

When
May 31, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Niagara County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
43.130, -78.900

Tornado, Chautauqua

When
May 31, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Rating
F3
Path length
13 mi
Path width
177 yd
Injuries
10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
42.030, -79.230

Hail, Chautauqua

When
May 31, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.150, -79.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Chautauqua

When
May 31, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Chautauqua County
Coordinates
42.030, -79.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Cattaraugus

When
May 31, 5:05 PM CST
Where
Cattaraugus County
Coordinates
42.170, -78.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Cattaraugus

When
May 31, 5:05 PM CST
Where
Cattaraugus County
Coordinates
42.250, -78.730

Hail, Erie

When
May 31, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Erie County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.650, -78.880

Hail, Genesee

When
May 31, 5:18 PM CST
Where
Genesee County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.950, -78.400

Hail, Erie

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Erie County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.600, -78.930

Hail, Erie

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Erie County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.770, -78.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Orleans

When
May 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Orleans County
Coordinates
43.230, -78.380

Hail, Genesee

When
May 31, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Genesee County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
42.900, -78.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Wyoming

When
May 31, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Wyoming County
Coordinates
42.720, -78.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Livingston

When
May 31, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Livingston County
Coordinates
42.920, -77.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Wayne

When
May 31, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Wayne County
Coordinates
43.170, -77.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 31, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Monroe County
Coordinates
43.020, -77.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
May 31, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Monroe County
Coordinates
43.170, -77.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Allegany

When
May 31, 6:20 PM CST
Where
Allegany County
Coordinates
42.230, -78.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Wayne

When
May 31, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Wayne County
Coordinates
43.170, -77.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Cayuga

When
May 31, 7:09 PM CST
Where
Cayuga County
Coordinates
43.230, -76.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Oswego

When
May 31, 7:33 PM CST
Where
Oswego County
Coordinates
43.230, -76.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Onondaga

When
May 31, 7:50 PM CST
Where
Onondaga County
Coordinates
43.170, -76.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Onondaga

When
May 31, 7:50 PM CST
Where
Onondaga County
Coordinates
43.130, -76.120

Tornado, St. Lawrence

When
May 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where
St. Lawrence County
Rating
F1
Path length
5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
44.800, -75.030

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New York in 1985Every state in 1985This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New York, 1985

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10076309, 10076310, 10076311, 10076312, 10076313, 10076314, 10076315, 10076316, 10076317, 10076318, 10076319, 10076320, 10076321, 10076322, 10076323, 10076324, 10076325, 10076326, 10076327, 10076328, 10076329, 10076330, 10076331, 10076332, 10076333, 10076334, 10076335, 10076336.