New York, 2001

Hail and Damaging Wind in New York, May 29, 2001

May 29, 2001 · NWS OKX · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed in a humid unstable air mass ahead of an approaching cold front from the northwest. As they moved east at about 40 mph, they generated high winds that downed numerous trees and power lines from College Point through Whitestone in Queens, and generated 3/4-inch diameter hail at College Point and in Brooklyn.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed in a humid unstable air mass ahead of an approaching cold front from the northwest. As they moved east at about 40 mph, they generated high winds that downed numerous trees and power lines from College Point through Whitestone in Queens, and generated 3/4-inch diameter hail at College Point and in Brooklyn. People from at least 19 houses in northern Queens reported downed trees and power lines.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 29, 1:25 PM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 1:25 PM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
225 PM EDT TUE MAY 29 2001

SYNOPSIS...SERIES OF PROGRESSIVE AND ABNORMALLY DEEP TROUGHS TO
AFFECT THE REGION NEXT 5 DAYS.

SHORT TERM...STRONG UPPER SHORT WAVE NOW AFFECTING THE REGION. MAIN
DYNAMICAL FORCING TO THE SOUTH OF THE REGION THUS RESULTING IN
COASTAL LOW DEVELOPMENT BOMBING WELL OFFSHORE OVERNIGHT.
CURRENTLY...BROAD COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE WESTERN PART OF THE
CWA WITH SHRA AND TSRA. SOME HAIL POTENTIAL FROM THESE PULSE
STORMS...BUT IT/S LOW. LATEST ACARS SOUNDING SHOWING A SIMILAR
PROFILE TO KPIT FROM THIS MORNING...WHICH WITH A 70 F MAX RESULTING
IN A -4 TO -5 LI.

WILL HAVE A REST OF TODAY PERIOD TO COVER THE CONVECTION.

TONIGHT...GRADUAL CLEARING IN THE STRONG CAA.

WEDNESDAY...CAA ALLOWS FOR FREQUENT GUSTS TO 20 MPH AT SFC. WITH
STRONG LATE MAY SUN...CUMULUS WILL ATTEMPT TO BOIL...BUT EXPECT
DOWNSLOPE DRYING IN THE NW FLOW TO MINIMIZE THIS. WILL HAVE PARTLY
SUNNY INLAND AND BE OPTIMISTIC WITH A MOSTLY SUNNY AT THE COAST.
TEMPS WILL BE 10 TO 15 BELOW NORMAL WITH NUMBERS OF THE MAV WHICH
SEEM A LOT MORE REASONABLE THAN THE FWC'S.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...CLEAR AND COOL. RECORD LOWS ARE IN THE 40S...BUT
WE'LL STAY ABOVE THESE DUE TO THE WIND. NOTE...UPPER TROUGH IS
NEARLY 2 SIGMA FROM NORMAL!

THURSDAY...NO PROBLEMS.

EXTENDED...NEXT SYSTEM DROPPING OUT OF THE GREAT ALSO A
SIGNIFICANTLY CLIMATE DEVIATED SYSTEM. BASED EXTEND ON AVN WHICH
BASED ON ENSEMBLES HAS GOOD CONSISTENCY. BOTH FRI AND SAT APPEAR WET
WITH MORE COOL WX FOR SUNDAY IN WAKE OF THE SYSTEM.

MARINE...STILL A MINIMAL SCA FOR WEDNESDAY. DO NOT PLAN TO ISSUE YE[T
PENDING COORDINATION.

.OKX...
.CT...NONE.
.NJ...NONE.
.NY...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

TONGUE

The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:56 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Queens

When
May 29, 2:55 PM EST
Where
Queens County, College Pt
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.783, -73.833

Thunderstorm Wind, Queens

When
May 29, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Queens County, College Pt
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.783, -73.833

Hail, Kings

When
May 29, 6:20 PM EST
Where
Kings County, Brooklyn
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.650, -73.933

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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

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: 5245610, 5245611, 5245612.