New York, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, July 18, 2002

July 18, 2002 · NWS ALY · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

A weak upper level disturbance triggered scattered thunderstorms across portions of eastern New York during the afternoon of July 18. Two cells became briefly 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$27,000
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 weak upper level disturbance triggered scattered thunderstorms across portions of eastern New York during the afternoon of July 18. Two cells became briefly severe. The first severe storm, in Saratoga County, produced significant wind damage as trees fell on wires at Spiers Falls Dam, in the town of Edinburg. The second cell moved across eastern Saratoga County where trees and wires were blown down at the intersection of Rts 32 and 4 in Stillwater as well as Quaker Springs. The storm then moved into Washington County and produced dime sized hail in the town of Easton.

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 18, 2:25 AM EST, 11 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 2:25 AM EST, 11 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
325 AM EDT THU JUL 18 2002

.DISC...AS THE COLD FRONT SLOWLY MEANDERS SWD ACRS FCST AREA
TODAY...THE THREAT FOR SHWRS/TSTMS WILL REMAIN.  CAPES GNLY UNDER
1000 J/KG AND WIND FLOW NOT AS STRONG AS YDAY SO THE THREAT FOR SVR
WX TODAY IS NEGLIGIBLE.

THE CDFNT STALLS JUST TO OUR S TNGT WITH THE ATMOS STILL A LITTLE
UNSTABLE ACRS SRN HALF OF FCST AREA...SO WL INCLUDE A LOW CHC OF
SHWRS/TSTMS.  JUST PTLY CLDY N.

ON FRI...ETA/AVN INDICATE A WK WAVE WL FORM ALG THE FNT AND PUSH
MSTR FURTHER N.  AVN PUSHES THE MSTR FURTHEST N WITH ABOUT 1/4 - 1/3
INCH QPF ACRS SRN PART OF FCST AREA.  WL INCLUDE A CHC OF SHWRS IN
ALL ZONES EXCEPT THE ADIRONDACKS FOR FRI.  ANY PCPN ON FRI LIKELY TO
BE MORE OF THE OVRNG TYPE AS SFC FNT REMAINS STNRY ALG THE NJ
COAST...SO WL NOT INCLUDE THE CHC OF TSTMS AT THIS TIME.

SKIES CLR FRI NITE WITH A NICE WKND COMING UP.

.HYDROLOGICAL STATUS...NO PROBLEMS ANTICIPATED THRU FRIDAY. THERE
WILL BE SCT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THRU THE PERIOD...BUT BASIN
WIDE AVERAGES WILL BE LIGHT.  DRY WX DURG THE WEEKEND.

.ALY...NONE.

MAGLARAS

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:52 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
July 18, 1:50 PM EST
Where
Saratoga County, Edinburg
Property damage
$7,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.217, -74.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
July 18, 2:20 PM EST
Where
Saratoga County, Stillwater
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.933, -73.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga

When
July 18, 2:20 PM EST
Where
Saratoga County, Quaker Spgs
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.033, -73.650

Hail, Washington

When
July 18, 2:25 PM EST
Where
Washington County, Easton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.983, -73.567

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

More

Every storm in New York in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, July 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: 5309160, 5309161, 5309162, 5309163.