Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery
- When
- July 23, 11:05 AM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, Amsterdam
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.933, -74.183
Damaging Winds in New York, July 23, 2002
A cold front, working southeast across the Empire State, triggered a broken line of thunderstorms across eastern New York during the midday hours of July 23. Since the air mass ahead of the front was hot and humid, and winds aloft rather strong, some of the storms became 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $130,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 12
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 cold front, working southeast across the Empire State, triggered a broken line of thunderstorms across eastern New York during the midday hours of July 23. Since the air mass ahead of the front was hot and humid, and winds aloft rather strong, some of the storms became severe. Thunderstorm winds produced tree damage in at least one place in Montgomery, Albany, Saratoga and Ulster Counties. In Coxsackie, Green County, in addition to small trees being blown down, thunderstorm winds blew a roof off a trailer. In the town of Hillsdale, Columbia County, several trees and some wires were blown down. One tree fell on a car. In Ulster Heights, Ulster County, a large tree fell on a tree house, destroying it. In Dutchess County, a microburst up to 50 yards wide knocked down many trees in the town of Millerton. One large tree fell on a house. Also in Dutchess County, more trees and wires were blown down in the town of Poughkeepsie. One of the trees blown down was a 120-foot high tree, planted by Samuel Morse in 1860. The storms knocked out power to 13,500 customers in eastern New York, with 12,000 of those in Dutchess County alone.
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 23, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 1100 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002 .DISC... FORECAST UPDATED. FRONT SLOWER THAN PREV ANTICIPATED... THUS TEMPS RAISED SOME 5 TO 10 DEG SOUTH OF FRONT. ALSO RAISED POPS AND PUSHED MORE EXTREME THUNDERSTORM WORDING. PWA VALUES 1.75-2.00 - LOCAL MAGENTA SEVERE WEATHER INDEX YIELDS MAJOR SEVERE. WATCH ANTICIPATED AND STAFFING BEING ARRANGED. .HYDROLOGICAL STATUS...ANY TRAINING ECHO TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY WITH SUCH HIGH PWA VALUES. CHC OF LCL FFW IN ISOLD HP SUPERCELLS...SPCLY CTSKLS TO SNE TAFTN. .ALY...NONE WILEY
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 23, 10:35 AM EST, 30 minutes before
NYZ040-231600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 1135 AM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY... AT 1135 AM EDT DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER SPROUT BROOK...OR 8 MILES WEST OF CANAJOHARIE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH...AND HEAVY RAIN...WILL BE NEAR... AMES AND CANAJOHARIE AT 1140 AM EDT... CHARLESTON FOUR CORNERS AT 1150 AM EDT... GLEN AND FULTONVILLE AT 1155 AM EDT... MINAVILLE AND TRIBES HILL AT NOON EDT...
Special weather statement, Jul 23, 11:05 AM EST, 0 minutes before
NYZ039-231630- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 1205 PM EDT TUE JUL 23 2002 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHEASTERN FULTON COUNTY... AT 1205 PM EDT DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES NORTH OF FORT JOHNSON...OR 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF AMSTERDAM... MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH...POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL...AND HEAVY RAIN...WILL MOVE ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN FULTON COUNTY THROUGH 1230 PM. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM EDT.
The radar
The Albany radar (KENX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:06 UTC.
Event by event
12 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Albany
- When
- July 23, 11:40 AM EST
- Where
- Albany County, Bethlehem Center
- Property damage
- $4,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.600, -73.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Saratoga
- When
- July 23, 11:45 AM EST
- Where
- Saratoga County, Stillwater
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 42.933, -73.650
Thunderstorm Wind, Rensselaer
- When
- July 23, 12:13 PM EST
- Where
- Rensselaer County, Poestenkill
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.683, -73.567
Thunderstorm Wind, Columbia
- When
- July 23, 12:26 PM EST
- Where
- Columbia County, Kinderhook
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.400, -73.700
Thunderstorm Wind, Greene
- When
- July 23, 12:50 PM EST
- Where
- Greene County, Coxsackie
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.350, -73.800
Thunderstorm Wind, Columbia
- When
- July 23, 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Columbia County, Hillsdale
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.183, -73.517
Thunderstorm Wind, Ulster
- When
- July 23, 1:20 PM EST
- Where
- Ulster County, Saugerties South
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.067, -73.950
Thunderstorm Wind, Dutchess
- When
- July 23, 1:25 PM EST
- Where
- Dutchess County, Millerton
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.950, -73.517
Thunderstorm Wind, Ulster
- When
- July 23, 1:25 PM EST
- Where
- Ulster County, Ulster Hgts
- Property damage
- $6,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 41.767, -74.500
Thunderstorm Wind, Dutchess
- When
- July 23, 1:25 PM EST
- Where
- Dutchess County, Poughkeepsie
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 41.700, -73.933
Thunderstorm Wind, Ulster
- When
- July 23, 1:45 PM EST
- Where
- Ulster County, Gardiner
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.683, -74.150
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Rip Current in Florida, July 23, 2002
- Rip Current in North Carolina, July 23, 2002
- Heat in California, July 23, 2002
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, July 23, 2002
- Flooding and Hail in Georgia, July 23, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Maine, July 23, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alaska, July 23, 2002
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 23, 2002
- Dust Storm and Damaging Winds in Arizona, July 23, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 23, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 23, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in New Hampshire, July 23, 2002
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: 5309072, 5309073, 5309074, 5309143, 5309144, 5309145, 5309146, 5309147, 5309148, 5309150, 5309151, 5309149.