New York, 2002

Tornado in New York, August 22, 2002

August 22, 2002 · NWS BUF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
$35,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 1:45 PM EST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 1:45 PM EST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
245 PM EDT THU AUG 22 2002

FCST WORKING OUT ABOUT AS EXPECTED TODAY. BREEZY CONDITIONS WITH
NUMEROUS SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON AND
BECOME SCATTERED THIS EVENING AS FRONTAL SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM
ONTARIO. FROPA WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A SWITCH TO A NE FLOW AND CLOUDY
CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF THE NIGHT. MODEL RH DECREASE SLOWLY OVERNIGHT
AND SKIES SHOULDNT BEGIN TO CLR OUT UNTIL AFTER DAYBREAK FRIDAY.
XPECT SKIES TO BECOME MOSTLY SUNNY DURING THE MORNING FRIDAY.

MODELS CANT SETTLE ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.
PREVIOUS RUNS WERE INDICATING THAT NEXT WAVE THAT WILL RIDE ALONG THE
FRONT WAS SUPPOSED TO PASS VERY CLOSE TO WNY SATURDAY AND POPS WERE
BROUGHT UP TO LIKELY IN PREVIOUS FCST. NEW AVN WOULD LEAD ME NOT ONLY
TO DROP SHOWERS FOR SATURDAY...BUT BRING MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES TO MOST
OF THE REGION. ETA IS MORE PESSAMISTIC WITH THE CLOUDS...SUGGESTING
CLOUDY CONDITIONS FOR SATURDAY BUT LITTLE IF ANY PCPN (WHITESVILLE
PROFILE IS THE EXCEPTION WITH PCPN FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY
WITH ABOUT 1/3 INCH. DECIDED TO BLEND MODELS AND GO CLOUDS AND CHC
SHOWERS SOUTHERN TIER, PC BUF-ROC REGIONS, MOSTLY SUNNY ART FOR
SATURDAY.

UPPER RIDGE BUILDS BACK AND FAIR WEATHER IS EXPECTED IN THE SUN-TUE
PERIOD. TEMPERATURES IN THE PERIOD WILL BE NEAR NORMAL. NEXT CHC FOR
PCPN ON WEDNESDAY AS SOUTHERNLY FLOW IS ESTABLISHED ALONG EAST COAST
BETWEEN DEPARTING HIGH AND LOW OVER OHIO VALLEY.

.BUF...NONE.

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Allegany

When
August 22, 2:45 PM EST
Where
Allegany County, Scio
Rating
F1
Path length
4 mi
Path width
150 yd
Property damage
$35,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.167, -77.983

An isolated thunderstorm produced a weak tornado in the Town of Ward. The tornado first touched down near Wadsworth Hill Road and moved southeast crossing Vandermark Road before lifting off the ground. The storm caused considerable tree damage along its path. The tornado caused structural damage to a house and barn including roof damage and broken windows. Wind speeds were estimated at 80 to 90 mph.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New York in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New York, 2002Warnings in New York, August 2002

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: 5312660.