Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, September 6 to 7, 1998

Severe thunderstorms moved onshore over northeast Niagara county shortly before midnight near Olcott and Golden Hill State Park in Barker. The line of storms quickly moved across Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, and northern Cayuga counties. Across the area the damage path was nearly one hundred miles long and five to ten miles wide. Winds were estimated between 80 and 100 mph throughout the two hour event. Along the entire path, damage and debris all laid in an easterly direction consistent with the damage from straight-line winds. Most of the damage consisted of downed trees and limbs. The falling trees and limbs in turn downed power and telephone lines and resulted in damage to buildings and automobiles. Power outages, some lasting nearly a week, were widespread across parts of Orleans, Monroe and Wayne counties. Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power. The strong winds themselves also resulted in structural damage to homes, barns and buildings along the path including some in Lydonville, Albion, Holley, Brockport, Bushnells Basin, Macedon and Clyde. Several aircraft were damaged at the Rochester Airport where wind gusts were measured at 89 mph. States of Emergency were declared throughout Monroe and Wayne counties and sections of Orleans county. Monroe, Wayne and Cayuga counties were declared federal disaster areas. The strong winds severely damaged apple crops and trees from Niagara across Orleans and Monroe through Wayne counties. At the Golden Hill State Park, a 42 year-old man was struck by lightning but only slightly injured.