Hail, Schenectady
- When
- May 28, 11:48 AM EST
- Where
- Schenectady County, Rotterdam
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.650, -73.767
Flash Flood and Hail in New York, May 28, 2001
A very strong upper level disturbance along with a surface occluded front, resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms across eastern New York during the afternoon of Memorial Day. Unseasonably cold air aloft, allowed for the formation of hail with several of the storms.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- $83,000
- Crop damage
- $900,000
- Events
- 15
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 very strong upper level disturbance along with a surface occluded front, resulted in widespread showers and thunderstorms across eastern New York during the afternoon of Memorial Day. Unseasonably cold air aloft, allowed for the formation of hail with several of the storms. Hailstones, ranging from dime to golfball-size, were noted at many locations across Albany County as well as a few spots in southern Saratoga, eastern Schenectady and northern Columbia counties. A lone report of dime-size hail was reported from Averill Park in Rensselaer County. There was one severe thunderstorm that produced wind damage in Saratoga County. Power utility poles were blown down in Rexford. Power lines were brought down in both Clifton Park and Stillwater. Hail from the thunderstorms produced significant damage in two apple orchards in Southern Saratoga County, one in Clifton Park, and the other in Rexford. Another apple orchard suffered widespread damage to 80 percent of its crop at Altamont, Albany County. Torrential rains from the storms flooded Central Avenue in Mechanicville, resulting in the temporary closing of the road.
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 May 28, 9:35 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 9:35 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 1035 AM EDT MON MAY 28 2001 ECHO TOPS GROWING IN ASSOCN WITH CONVECTION ACRS WASHINGTON CO NY...UP TO 32 THSD AT 1427Z. INVRSN BASED AT 25 HND FT ON 12Z KALY SOUNDING AND ABT 1 THSD FT DP. DCRG CLD COVER OVR PTNS OF CNTRL NY PER SATPIX...WORTHY OF UPDT TO TWEAK TEMPS UP A BIT IN WRN ZONES AND QPF FOR SRN VT UP. ERY LOOK AT NEW ETA PLACES H8 THETA-E TROF OVR FINGER LKS THIS MRNG INTO ERY AFTN...THEN BY 00Z ONE THETA-E TROF AXIS EXTENDS ACRS ADRNDCKS-CNTRL PA WITH SCNDRY THETA-E TROF AXIS INVOF CYOW-KPSM. THEREFORE PRIOR IDEA OF THUNDER OF GREATEST INTEREST BEING DURG ERYR PTNS OF AFTN SEEMS VALID. MCKINLEY/CSC .ALY...NY ERN/VT EXTRM SRN/MA EXTRM WRN/CT NW...NONE.
The radar
The Albany radar (KENX), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:49 UTC.
Event by event
11 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Schenectady
- When
- May 28, 11:59 AM EST
- Where
- Schenectady County, Niskayuna
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.633, -73.567
Hail, Schenectady
- When
- May 28, 12:02 PM EST
- Where
- Schenectady County, Niskayuna
- Measured
- 1.25 in hail
- Property damage
- $7,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Albany
- When
- May 28, 12:05 PM EST
- Where
- Albany County, Colonie
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.900, -73.683
Hail, Columbia
- When
- May 28, 12:07 PM EST
- Where
- Columbia County, Stockport
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $11,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.817, -74.000
Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:10 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Rexford
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Crop damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.317, -73.733
Hail, Columbia
- When
- May 28, 12:12 PM EST
- Where
- Columbia County, Stuyvesant
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.933, -73.650
Flash Flood, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:15 PM EST to 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Mechanicville
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.717, -73.850
Hail, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:17 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Mechanicville
- Measured
- 1.25 in hail
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.883, -73.767
Hail, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:19 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Clifton Park
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $200,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.850, -73.883
Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:30 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Stillwater
- Property damage
- $9,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.783, -73.833
Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga
- When
- May 28, 12:30 PM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Clifton Park
- Property damage
- $13,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.783, -73.833
Hail, Albany
- When
- May 28, 1:28 PM EST
- Where
- Albany County, Albany
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Crop damage
- $600,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.383, -73.783
Hail, Albany
- When
- May 28, 1:31 PM EST
- Where
- Albany County, Albany
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.883, -73.767
Hail, Rensselaer
- When
- May 28, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rensselaer County, Averill Park
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.650, -73.767
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.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 28, 2001
- Dense Fog in Florida, May 28, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 28, 2001
- Flash Flood in Wyoming, May 28, 2001
- Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, May 28, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 28, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 28, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 28, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, May 28, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 28, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 28, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 28, 2001
More
Every storm in New York in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, May 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: 5244422, 5244423, 5244424, 5243697, 5242686, 5243692, 5243693, 5243700, 5243694, 5243695, 5242687, 5242688, 5243696, 5243698, 5243699.