Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, July 10, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, July 10, 2001
Start: 2001-07-10T14:35
End: 2001-07-10T15:50
Location: Massachusetts

July 10, 2001 · NWS ALY · 4 events in 1 county or zone

A strong cold front triggered scattered showers and thunderstorms across Berkshire County during the afternoon of July 10. Some of the storms became strong to locally severe.

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: 0
Property damage: $97,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 ALY wrote it up.

A strong cold front triggered scattered showers and thunderstorms across Berkshire County during the afternoon of July 10. Some of the storms became strong to locally severe. Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees, large limbs and wires in the towns of Pittsfield, Lanesborough and Cheshire. In addition, dime to penny-size hail was noted in Pittsfield.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 10, 2:05 PM EST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 10, 2:05 PM EST, 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
305 PM EDT TUE JUL 10 2001

WORKZONES AVAILABLE.

.DISC...ONCE AGAIN IN SVR MODE...MORE WIDESPREAD THAN
YESTERDAY...AND PROBABLY JUST GETTING GOING. HAVE TWO WATCH
BOXES...ONE FOR THE NORTHERN ZONES...AND ONE JUST ISSUED FOR MOST OF
THE CWA. SCATTERED STORMS GETTING GOING EAST OF LAKE GEORGE...MOHAWK
VALLEY AND THE CD. COLD FRONT STILL TO OUR WEST...WITH AN OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY JUST PASSING THROUGH KALB. ANTICIPATE AN EARLIER...RATHER
THAN LATER SHOW...AS THE COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO TRANSLATE QUICKLY
TO THE SOUTHEAST OF US THIS EVENING. LF QUAD OF H2.5 JETLET
APPROACHING REGION...ALONG WITH THE COLD FRONT TO PRODUCE GOOD
DIVERGENCE AND GOOD UVM. CAPES ARE RANGING BETWEEN 1000-1500 J/KG.

ONCE THE COLD FRONT BLOWS THROUGH...OUR WEATHER WILL SLOWLY SETTLE
DOWN. HOWEVER...SHORT WAVE RACING SEWD THROUGH THE LONDON PLAIN OF
ONTARIO MAY REFIRE SOME SHOWERS LATER THIS EVENING...SO WILL AT
LEAST INCLUDE A SMALL POP FOR THE NIGHTIME HOURS FOR ALL ZONES.
ATMOS SHOULD BE STABLE ENOUGH FOR JUST SHOWERS. (GO BELOW THE LKLY
THRESHOLD OF THE MAV).

THEN...YET ANOTHER UNSEASONABLY COOL JULY AIR MASS WILL SINK
SOUTHWARD FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS OF CANADA...GETTING AIDED BY THE
CHILLY WATERS OF HUDSON/S BAY. WILL COME IN TWO PIECE MEAL SHOTS.
THE FIRST WILL BE USHERED IN TONIGHT. THE SECOND...WILL COME WITH
ANOTHER COLD FRONT...FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH THE CWA LATE TOMORROW.
MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE ENOUGH CAPE (500-1000 J/KG) TO WARRANT A
CHANCE OF THUNDER...ALBEIT SMALL BY WED AFTERNOON. WITH WET BULB
READINGS IN THE 6 KFT...THESE COULD CONTAIN SMALL HAIL...BUT WILL
NOT MENTION NOW.

THE CORE OF THE COOL AIR MOVES IN FOR THU. COLD POOL AT H5 STAYS
JUST TO OUR N...BUT LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES PLENTY STEEP ENOUGH FOR
LOTS OF INSTABILITY CLOUDS AS WELL AS SCATTERED SHOWERS. WILL
HOWEVER...CONFINE SHOWERS TO MOUNTAIN AREAS FOR NOW...ON THUR. H8
TEMPS 4-6C...ABOUT AS COOL AS IT GETS FOR MID JULY.

.EXTENDED...SLOW MODERATION EXPECTED. EASTERN TROUGH DROPS
SOUTH...HEIGHTS RISE A LITTLE OVER OUR PARTS. LARGE SURFACE HIGH
BUILDS FROM CANADA...TO HOPEFULLY BRING A DRY AND PLEASANT WEEKEND
WITH TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO MORE NORMAL LEVELS.

.ALY...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 700 PM EDT NYZ033-042-033
       SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 800 PM EDT NYZ041-047>054-
       058>061-NYZ063>066
       SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 800 PM EDT VTZ013-014
       SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 800 PM EDT MAZ001
       SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 800 PM EDT CTZ001

HWJIV

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 10, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 55 minutes before

CTZ001-MAZ001-NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-058>061-063>066-VTZ013-014-
102000-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
1140 AM EDT TUE JUL 10 2001

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON IN EASTERN NEW
YORK AND NEARBY NEW ENGLAND...

A COLD FRONT WORKING ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK WILL LIKELY SPAWN
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS EASTERN NEW YORK AND WESTERN NEW
ENGLAND. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO LOCALLY SEVERE.

THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HAIL AS WELL AS
STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THERE IS ALSO THE THREAT OF DANGEROUS CLOUD TO
GROUND LIGHTNING.

ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP...WILL MOVE FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST
AROUND 30 MPH.

A THUNDERSTORM IS DEFINED AS SEVERE WHEN IT CONTAINS WIND GUSTS THAT
REACH OR EXCEED 58 MILES AN HOUR...OR IF IT HAS HAIL THREE QUARTERS
OF AN INCH...OR MORE...IN DIAMETER.

IF YOU SEE THREATENIvNG WEATHER...SEEK SHELTER AT ONCE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...THE VOICE OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE...FOR FURTHER UPDATES....INCLUDING POSSIBLE WATCHES OR
WARNINGS.

HWJIV

Local storm report, Jul 10, 2:13 PM EST, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
313 PM EDT TUE JUL 10 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0257 PM    EAST GREENBUSH            NY   .88 INCH HAIL
07/10/01   RENSSELAER                     NICKEL SIZE HAIL

0257 PM    EAST GREENBUSH            NY   WIND DAMAGE
07/10/01   RENSSELAER                     TREES AND WIRES DOWN

NNNN
KOLECI

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:34 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Berkshire

When: July 10, 2:35 PM EST
Where: Berkshire County, Pittsfield
Property damage: $31,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.450, -73.250

Hail, Berkshire

When: July 10, 2:35 PM EST to 2:40 PM EST
Where: Berkshire County, Pittsfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.450, -73.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Berkshire

When: July 10, 3:50 PM EST
Where: Berkshire County, Lanesborough
Property damage: $38,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.517, -73.217

Thunderstorm Wind, Berkshire

When: July 10, 3:50 PM EST
Where: Berkshire County, Cheshire
Property damage: $28,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.567, -73.167

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

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, July 2001

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: 5257765, 5257766, 5257767, 5257768.