Thunderstorm Wind, Orange
- When
- May 20, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Orange County, Monroe
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.320, -74.200
Hail and Damaging Wind in New York, May 20, 1998
Severe thunderstorms formed in a warm, moist, and unstable airmass ahead of an approaching cold front. 75-inches in diameter in Cold Springs, on Canal Street in New York City, and in Franklin Square.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms formed in a warm, moist, and unstable airmass ahead of an approaching cold front. They produced damaging hail up to 1.75-inches in diameter in Cold Springs, on Canal Street in New York City, and in Franklin Square. Other thunderstorms produced hail less than 0.75-inch in diameter in Kings County (Brooklyn) and in Wheatly Heights (Suffolk County). In addition, thunderstorms caused localized street and poor drainage flooding in lower Manhattan.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Putnam
- When
- May 20, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Putnam County, Cold Spgs
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.420, -73.970
Hail, Rockland
- When
- May 20, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockland County, West Nyack
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.100, -73.980
Hail, Westchester
- When
- May 20, 5:30 PM EST
- Where
- Westchester County, Armonk
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.120, -73.730
Hail, New York
- When
- May 20, 5:30 PM EST
- Where
- New York County, New York
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.730, -74.000
Hail, Nassau
- When
- May 20, 6:03 PM EST
- Where
- Nassau County, Franklin Square
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.720, -73.670
What these are
- 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.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in Iowa, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 20, 1998
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 20 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Oklahoma, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Drought in Louisiana, May 20 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in New York in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, May 1998
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: 5659726, 5659727, 5659728, 5659729, 5659730, 5659731.