New York, 1988

Tornadoes and Hail in New York, August 28, 1988

August 28, 1988 · NWS ALB · 30 events in 16 counties and zones

21 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 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
1
Injuries
3
Property damage
$500,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
30

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

21 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Warren

When
August 28, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Warren County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
43.750, -73.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Oneida

When
August 28, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Oneida County
Coordinates
43.200, -75.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Steuben

When
August 28, 1:03 PM CST
Where
Steuben County
Coordinates
42.380, -77.370

Hail, Oneida

When
August 28, 1:15 PM CST
Where
Oneida County
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
43.100, -75.250

Hail, Washington

When
August 28, 1:15 PM CST
Where
Washington County
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
43.750, -73.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Steuben

When
August 28, 1:18 PM CST
Where
Steuben County
Coordinates
42.400, -77.130

Tornado, Schuyler

When
August 28, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Schuyler County
Rating
F1
Path length
9 mi
Path width
880 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
42.500, -76.870

Tornado, Tompkins

When
August 28, 1:42 PM CST
Where
Tompkins County
Rating
F1
Path length
4 mi
Path width
880 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
42.520, -76.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Tompkins

When
August 28, 2:05 PM CST
Where
Tompkins County
Coordinates
42.600, -76.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Steuben

When
August 28, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Steuben County
Coordinates
42.150, -77.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Cortland

When
August 28, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Cortland County
Coordinates
42.670, -76.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Fulton

When
August 28, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Fulton County
Coordinates
43.230, -74.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Oneida

When
August 28, 2:40 PM CST
Where
Oneida County
Coordinates
43.220, -75.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Chenango

When
August 28, 2:55 PM CST
Where
Chenango County
Coordinates
42.680, -75.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
August 28, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Saratoga County
Coordinates
43.300, -73.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Otsego

When
August 28, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Otsego County
Coordinates
42.700, -75.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Warren

When
August 28, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Warren County
Coordinates
43.320, -73.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Schoharie

When
August 28, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Schoharie County
Coordinates
42.670, -74.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
August 28, 3:12 PM CST
Where
Saratoga County
Coordinates
43.020, -74.030

Hail, Saratoga

When
August 28, 3:20 PM CST
Where
Saratoga County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
43.080, -73.800

Hail, Schoharie

When
August 28, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Schoharie County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.720, -74.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When
August 28, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Washington County
Coordinates
43.370, -73.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Otsego

When
August 28, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Otsego County
Coordinates
42.780, -75.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Schenectady

When
August 28, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Schenectady County
Coordinates
42.750, -74.130

Hail, Broome

When
August 28, 4:14 PM CST
Where
Broome County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.120, -75.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When
August 28, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Coordinates
42.930, -74.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
August 28, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Saratoga County
Coordinates
43.080, -73.800

Hail, Saratoga

When
August 28, 5:10 PM CST
Where
Saratoga County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
42.900, -73.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Rensselaer

When
August 28, 6:07 PM CST
Where
Rensselaer County
Coordinates
42.950, -73.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When
August 28, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Washington County
Coordinates
43.030, -73.380

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Schuyler1988-08-28Direct

What these are

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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New York in 1988Every state in 1988This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New York, 1988Warnings in New York, August 1988

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: 10075150, 10075151, 10075152, 10075153, 10075154, 10075155, 10075156, 10075157, 10075158, 10075159, 10075160, 10075161, 10075162, 10075163, 10075164, 10076013, 10076014, 10076231, 10076232, 10076233, 10076234, 10076235, 10076236, 10076237, 10076238, 10076239, 10076240, 10076241, 10076242, 10076243.