Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, August 24, 1998

A line of thunderstorms became severe over central portions of the county during the late morning hours. Widespread wind damage was the result. Several large trees and power lines were downed in the towns of Jasper and Howard as the line of storms moved through from 1135 to 1140 am EDT. In Jasper, portions of route 72 had to be closed for about an hour while crews cleared fallen debris. Further east from Bath through Savona, more trees were toppled and additional road closures came about. Most notably, route 13 through downtown Bath was blocked by large tree limbs. As the southern end of the squall line moved into eastern sections of the county, it began to weaken.

The same line of severe thunderstorms that affected Steuben county earlier moved into Schuyler county and produced more widespread wind damage for the midday period. As the storms entered western sections of the county, dime sized hail was observed by a skywarn spotter in Townsend and 70 mph winds were also recorded by this individual. Further east, many trees were downed in Tyrone, Watkins Glen, and Montour Falls. Several streets were littered with large tree limbs, fallen wires, and in some cases damaged traffic signals. Finally, additional trees and power lines were felled in Mecklenburg as the storms ripped through far eastern portions of the county.

Severe thunderstorms continued eastward from Schuyler county and across the northern tier communities of Tompkins county. A swath of wind damage in the form of downed trees, power lines, and road signs was inflicted from Trumansburg in the far northwestern corner of the county eastward across the Ithaca area and into Groton and Dryden. A couple of homes in Dryden sustained minor roof and siding damage as they were hit by falling trees. Once the storms approached the Tompkins/Cortland county line, they began to weaken temporarily.

A thunderstorm strengthened to severe limits over far southern portions of the county early in the afternoon. Nickel sized hail was observed in and near Lebanon at about 113 pm EDT.

The same batch of thunderstorms that produced plenty of severe weather earlier in the day upstream in Steuben, Schuyler, and Tompkins counties reintensified to severe levels over northern Chenango county. A few trees were toppled early in the afternoon in both North Norwich and Sherburne.

A thunderstorm cell briefly reached severe levels over central portions of the county early in the afternoon. Large tree limbs and wires were toppled in Loch Sheldrake at around 210 pm EDT.