High Wind in New York, February 17, 2006

Name: High Wind in New York, February 17, 2006
Start: 2006-02-17T08:00
End: 2006-02-17T14:00
Location: New York

February 17, 2006 · NWS BGM · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
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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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 BGM wrote it up.

A strong cold front moved across Upstate New York during the morning of the 17th, bringing high winds across Upstate New York along and behind the frontal passage. The strongest winds were experienced in the Finger Lakes region, western Mohawk Valley and Southern Tug Hill Plateau in central New York. There was considerable damage throughout these areas with many trees and power lines taken down by winds in the 50-60 knot range. Some of the more noteable damage included a roof ripped off a carpet store in Onondaga County and 12 roads closed in Madison County due to fallen trees. In addition, over 200,000 residents of north central NY were without power during the height of the storm. Some residents did not get their power restored for over one week.

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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 17, 4:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 4:30 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
430 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

.SHORT TERM (TODAY - SATURDAY)...
A DEEPENING 996MB LOW SYSTEM LOCATED JUST NORTH OF TORONTO WILL PUSH
RAPIDLY OFF TO THE NORTHEAST TODAY.  A STRONG COLD FRONT IS
CURRENTLY LOCATED FROM NR YOUNGSTOWN OH INTO NORTH-CENTRAL KY AS OF
09Z.  TEMPS ARE SOARING AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WITH SYRACUSE
SITTING AT 60F...RANGING TO A LOW OF 48 AT MONTICELLO.

LIGHT RAIN MOVING INTO FINGER LAKES REGION ATTM JUST AHEAD OF
FRONTAL BOUNDARY.  RAIN WILL BE BRIEF AS FRONT RACES ACROSS FA
EARLY THIS MORNING.  CURRENT OB TRENDS/LATEST MODEL SOLNS BRING
FRONT INTO EXTREME WESTERN HALF OF FA AT 12Z...TO THE I-81 CORRIDOR
BY 15Z AND INTO WESTERN NEW ENGLAND BY 18Z.  QPF AMOUNTS WILL
GENERALLY RANGE FROM 0.25 TO 0.50 INCH.  COLD AIR WILL MAKE A
DRASTIC APPEARANCE BEHIND BOUNDARY WITH KCLE PLUMMETING 13F IN ONE
HOUR.  EARLY TEMPS WILL START OUT IN THE 50S...DROPPING INTO THE 20S
AREAWIDE BY 00Z THIS EVENING.  MOST LOCALES ACROSS CWA SHOULD REACH
THE FRZG MARK BY LUNCHTIME.  SHARP PCPN GRADIENT WILL LEAD TO ONLY A
FEW LINGERING -SHSN IN WAKE OF FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS AFTERNOON.

BIGGEST CONCERN FOR TODAY IS STRONG GRADIENT WINDS THAT WILL
ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM.  CURRENT MSAS ANALYSIS INDICATES STRONG
PRESSURE RISES DEVELOPING BEHIND SYSTEM.  THIS WAS PICKED UP WELL
WITH LATEST MODEL SOLNS.  00/06Z NAM12 INDICATES PRESSURE RISES ON
THE ORDER OF 12-15MB/3 HR WILL SHIFT NORTH AND EAST INTO CANADA
DURING MORNING HOURS.  STRONGEST WINDS STILL APPEAR TO BE ON TRACK
TO CLIP EXTREME NORTHERN SECTIONS OF FA.  BUFKIT SOUNDINGS INDICATE
MOMENTUM TRANSFER IN THE 45-50KT RANGE AT KSYR/KUCA AREAS WHILE ONLY
40-45KTS ELSEWHERE.  STRONGEST 8H WINDS ARE PROGGED TO REMAIN ACROSS
NORTHERN SECTIONS ON THE ORDER OF 50KTS.  REMAINING AREAS WILL
LIKELY SEE GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH...MAINLY IN THE HIGHEST TERRAIN.
WILL MONITOR UPSTREAM OBS AS LOW CONTINUES TO DEEPEN AND PULL
NORTHEAST...HOWEVER STRONGEST WINDS LIKELY TO REMAIN NORTH OF A
KPEO-KUCA LINE TODAY.

WINDS BEGIN TO DECREASE THIS EVENING AS LOW PULLS AWAY.  MUCH COLDER
AIR ON TAP WITH LOWS DIPPING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS TONIGHT AND
MAXES ONLY FCST TO RISE INTO THE LOWER TEENS SATURDAY.  REINFORCING
SHOT OF COLD AIR MOVES IN LATE TONIGHT...BACKING WINDS BRIEFLY TO
THE SOUTHWEST.  NW FLOW IN WAKE OF FEATURE WILL LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT
OF LES ACROSS NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES BY 12Z SAT.  BUFKIT SNDGS
INDICATE ACTIVITY REMAINS DISORGANIZED SAT AFTERNOON BEFORE
RE-ORIENTING ACROSS NORTH LATE SAT NIGHT.  PB

&&

.EXTENDED (SAT NIGHT - THURSDAY)...

WITH THE FOCUS ON THE NEXT 24 HOURS...GENERALLY WENT ALONG WITH HPC
EXTENDED GUIDANCE. CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD
WITH WEAK SYSTEMS MOVING BY AND LAKE INFLUENCES. TEMPERATURES WILL
START OFF THE WEEK COLD AND THEN MODERATE BACK TOWARD NORMALS. BMW

&&

.AVIATION (17/06Z TO 18/06Z)...
SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT IN ADVANCE OF COLD
FRONT...25-30 KTS THRU ABOUT 10Z...THEN INCREASING RIGHT AHEAD OF OF
FRONT BETWEEN 10-14Z.  ANY LLWS SHOULD DIMINISH AS ALL TERMINALS
BECOME MIXED BY 09Z. FROPA ANTICIPATED 12Z-16Z ACROSS CNY/NEPA WITH
SUSTANED W WINDS INCR TO 25-35 KTS...WITH GUSTS 45-50KT. POTL FOR
SVR LLVL TURB HIGH THRU 20Z...WHEN WINDS BEGIN TO DECREASE.  VIS/CIG
WILL GENERALLY BE VFR BEFORE FROPA...WITH SOME TEMPO MVFR VIS AT AND
SHORTLY AFTER FROPA.  MVFR CIGS EXPECTED FROM TIME OF FROPA UNTIL
MID-LATE AFTERNOON.  -CEMPA

&&

.BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.NY...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM EST FRIDAY FINGER LAKES/SRN
      TUG/WRN MOHAWK VLY.
      WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM EST FRIDAY REMAINDER OF CNTRL NY.
.PA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM EST FRIDAY ALL ZONES.

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 17, 4:15 AM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
415 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

NYZ009-015>018-036-037-180915-
NORTHERN ONEIDA-YATES-SENECA-SOUTHERN CAYUGA-ONONDAGA-MADISON-
SOUTHERN ONEIDA-
415 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL NEW
YORK.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM THIS EVENING. WEST WINDS
WILL INCREASE IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT TO THE 30 TO 45
MPH RANGE...WITH GUSTS FROM 60 TO 65 MPH. WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE
COULD DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES. PLEASE REFER TO WWUS 71 KBGM
ALBNPWBGM FOR THE LATEST DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL DEVELOP ON SATURDAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE
DAY SUNDAY...AFFECTING THE FINGER LAKES REGION AND THE SOUTHERN
TUG HILL PLATEAU.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. HOWEVER...ALL SPOTTERS
ARE ENCOURAGED TO FORWARD ANY HIGH WIND REPORTS OR RELATED DAMAGE
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

NYZ022>025-044>046-055>057-062-PAZ038>040-043-044-047-048-072-
180915-
STEUBEN-SCHUYLER-CHEMUNG-TOMPKINS-CORTLAND-CHENANGO-OTSEGO-TIOGA-
BROOME-DELAWARE-SULLIVAN-BRADFORD-SUSQUEHANNA-NORTHERN WAYNE-
WYOMING-LACKAWANNA-LUZERNE-PIKE-SOUTHERN WAYNE-
415 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL NEW
YORK...SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM THIS EVENING. WEST WINDS
IN THE WAKE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL INCREASE TO THE 25 TO 40
MPH RANGE WITH GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY AT THE
HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. PLEASE REFER TO WWUS71 KBGM ALBNPWBGM FOR THE
LATEST DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. HOWEVER...ALL SPOTTERS
ARE ENCOURAGED TO FORWARD ANY HIGH WIND REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

PB

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 17, 7:40 AM EST, 20 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
740 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

NYZ017-018-023>025-036-037-044>046-055>057-PAZ038-039-171345-
BRADFORD PA-BROOME NY-CAYUGA NY-CHEMUNG NY-CHENANGO NY-CORTLAND
NY-DELAWARE NY-MADISON NY-ONEIDA NY-ONONDAGA NY-OTSEGO NY-SCHUYLER
NY-SUSQUEHANNA PA-TIOGA NY-TOMPKINS NY-
745 AM EST FRI FEB 17 2006

...LINE OF SHOWERS WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS MOVING INTO THE AREA...

* AT 730 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF SHOWERS PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS.  THESE SHOWERS WERE
LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR SYRACUSE... TO CORNING AND
WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 50 MPH. WIND GUSTS ALONG AND BEHIND THESE
SHOWERS WILL RANGE MOSTLY FROM 40 TO 50 MPH... WITH A FEW GUSTS TO
60 MPH NEAR AND NORTH OF NEW YORK THRUWAY... INCLUDING THE SYRACUSE
AREA.

* STRONG WINDS WILL BE NEAR...
  SYRACUSE AND CORNING AT 755 AM EST
  ITHACA...ELMIRA AND CANTON AT 820 AM EST
  UTICA... CORTLAND... BINGHAMTON AND MONTROSE AT 900 AM EST

STRONG... GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY AFTERNOON... THEN
BEGIN TO DIMINISH LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

MSE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Seneca

When: February 17, 8:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Seneca forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.781, -76.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Cayuga

When: February 17, 8:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Cayuga forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Steuben

When: February 17, 8:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Steuben forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.268, -77.384 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Yates

When: February 17, 8:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Yates forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.633, -77.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Onondaga

When: February 17, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Onondaga forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northern Oneida

When: February 17, 10:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Oneida forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Madison

When: February 17, 10:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Oneida

When: February 17, 10:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Oneida forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, February 2006

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: 5489841, 5489842, 5489844, 5489845, 5489840, 5489838, 5489839, 5489843.