A slow moving frontal system brought scattered showers and thunderstorms to the region. Isolated storms produced strong winds and hail.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BGM wrote it up.
A slow moving frontal system brought scattered showers and thunderstorms to the region. Isolated storms produced strong winds and hail.
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 Aug 21, 9:00 AM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 1000 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BRING OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO CENTRAL NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA THROUGH SATURDAY. CONDITIONS WILL BE VERY HUMID AHEAD OF THE FRONT. HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY ANY STRONGER STORMS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY. COOLER... LESS HUMID WEATHER WILL RETURN BEHIND THE FRONT SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... AT 14Z, SCATTERED MAINLY LIGHT SHOWERS ACROSS CWA WITH SOME HEAVIER CONVECTION OVER WYOMING VALLEY, POCONOS AND DELAWARE COUNTY. ACTIVITY WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND INTENSE THIS AFTERNOON WITH FORCING FROM MID LEVEL JET DYNAMICS. LIMITING FACTOR CONTINUES TO BE CAPE WITH MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ONCE AGAIN NOT VERY EXCITING JUST LIKE YESTERDAY. ALTHOUGH, BETTER DYNAMICS AND SLIGHT COOLING AT H50 LATER THIS AFTERNOON WILL LEAD TO MORE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION. PREV DISC... UPPER LEVEL SPEED MAX CURRENTLY SWINGING AROUND THE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE MIDWEST WILL LIFT NORTHEAST TOWARD THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES LATER TODAY. THIS WILL PROVIDE THE FORCING FOR LARGE-SCALE LIFT IN THE RIGHT REAR QUAD OF THE JET OVER NY AND PA THIS AFTERNOON... AS A SURFACE COLD FRONT SLOWLY ADVANCES EASTWARD ACROSS THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES. SOME BREAKS OF SUNSHINE WILL COMBINE WITH A VERY WARM... HUMID AIRMASS TO PRODUCE MLCAPES OF 1000 TO 1500 J/KG LATER THIS AFTERNOON. DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL BE QUITE STRONG WITH 0-6 KM BULK SHEAR VALUES AS HIGH AS 50 KTS ACROSS UPSTATE NY LATER TODAY. THIS COMBINATION SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT FOR ORGANIZED STORMS AND A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER. IN ADDITION... PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR 2.00 INCHES WILL SUPPORT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS. HAVE NOT ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WITH THIS PACKAGE DUE TO UNCERTAINTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOCATION OF THE BEST CHANCE FOR HEAVY RAIN... BUT LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN DOES APPEAR TO BE A GOOD BET LATER THIS AFTERNOON. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY/... WAVES OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT... AS THE UPPER TROUGH IN THE MIDWEST SLOWS ITS EASTWARD PROGRESSION... PARTIALLY DUE TO THE APPROACH OF HURRICANE BILL FROM THE SOUTHEAST. THE NAM/GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE LOW-LEVEL FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL EVENTUALLY SET UP OVER NE PA AND EASTERN NY SATURDAY AND SATURDAY WHICH COULD END UP BEING THE FOCUS FOR THE HEAVIEST RAIN. IF MODELS REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH THIS SCENARIO... THEN A WATCH FOR HEAVY RAIN MAY BE ISSUED LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT FOR THAT AREA. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... STILL DEALING WITH THE UPPER TROF AT 500 MB AT THE START OF THE EXTENDED. THE GFS CONTINUES TO BE FASTER THAN THE NAM OR EURO IN PUSHING THE TROF AXIS EAST OF THE CWA BY 12Z MONDAY. THE 0Z EURO ALONG WITH THE 0Z NAM ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE TROF AXIS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WESTERN AND CENTRAL PA. GOING WITH A NAM/EURO SOLUTION WOULD YIELD A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS EARLY MONDAY WITH THE TROF AXIS TO OUR WEST. DRYER WEATHER BUILDS IN LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OUT OF THE OHIO VALLEY. H85 TEMPS BETWEEN 11C AND 13C SUPPORT HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S MONDAY...TO NEAR 80 TUESDAY. OUR NEXT SHOT AT PRECIPITATION WILL COME WITH A COLD FRONT WEDNESDAY. THE BIGGER STORY WITH THE FRONT WILL BE THE COOL AIR BEHIND IT. BOTH THE EURO AND GFS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN BUILDING A SURFACE HIGH SOUTHEAST ACROSS ONTARIO AND INTO OUR AREA AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK. THE GFS IS A BIT FASTER BUILDING IN THE HIGH BUT THE OVERALL PATTERN IS THE SAME. BOTH MODELS SHOW THE POSSIBILITY OF H85 TEMPS DROPPING TO BETWEEN 4C AND 8C BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. IF THIS PANS OUT...TEMPS MAY STRUGGLE TO REACH 70 EITHER THURSDAY AND OR FRIDAY. && .AVIATION /14Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... IFR FOG WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 13Z AT KELM WITH IMPROVEMENT AFTER THAT. ELSEWHERE VFR WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH MID MORNING. AN AREA OF CLOUDS BETWEEN 4KFT AND 6KFT WILL LIFT NORTHWARD THIS MORNING...IMPACTING THE TERMINALS FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. A FEW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THESE CLOUDS BY 14Z...ESPECIALLY THE FARTHER SOUTH AND WEST YOU GO...IE KELM AND KBGM. A MUCH BETTER SHOT AT ORGANIZED SHOWERS COMES AFTER 18Z AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. CARRIED THE TEMPO GROUP FOR SHOWERS DURING THIS TIME WITH A CB GROUP. AS WE GET CLOSER TO THIS AFTERNOON WE WILL LIKELY HAVE TO ADD A TS GROUP FOR THUNDERSTORMS. MVFR VISIBILITIES WILL LIKELY BE ADDED FOR AREAS OF RAIN...WITH BRIEF IFR RESTRICTIONS IN THUNDERSTORMS. MAIN AREA OF RAIN SHIFTS EAST OVERNIGHT...WITH CONCERN TURNING TOWARD FOG POTENTIAL. VERY MOIST LOW LEVELS WILL COMBINE WITH LIGHT WINDS AND BREAKS IN THE OVERCAST TO HELP FOG AND STRATUS FORM AFTER 04Z ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER AND NORTHERN PA. THIS FAR OUT I WENT WITH MVFR VISIBILITIES FOR MOST OF THE TERMINALS BUT IF THE MODELS ARE CORRECT...IFR/LIFR CEILINGS AND IFR VISIBILITIES ARE POSSIBLE. OUTLOOK... SAT...POSSIBLE RESTRICTIONS IN SHRA/TSRA, PRIMARILY AVP/BGM. SUN-TUE...VFR. WED...MVFR POSSIBLE IN SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS. THUR...VFR FRI...VFR && .BGM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...NONE. NY...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...MSE NEAR TERM...MSE/RRM SHORT TERM...MSE LONG TERM...EMH AVIATION...EMH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 1109 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 NYZ009-015>018-022>025-036-037-044>046-055-056-PAZ038-039-221515- NORTHERN ONEIDA-YATES-SENECA-SOUTHERN CAYUGA-ONONDAGA-STEUBEN- SCHUYLER-CHEMUNG-TOMPKINS-MADISON-SOUTHERN ONEIDA-CORTLAND-CHENANGO- OTSEGO-TIOGA-BROOME-BRADFORD-SUSQUEHANNA- 1109 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. IN ADDITION... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WITH THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. OCCASIONAL SHOWERS WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON SATURDAY. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NYZ057-062-PAZ040-044-048-072-221515- DELAWARE-SULLIVAN-NORTHERN WAYNE-LACKAWANNA-PIKE-SOUTHERN WAYNE- 1109 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 726 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK...SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK AND NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. PAZ043-047-221515- WYOMING-LUZERNE- 1109 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. IN ADDITION... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WITH THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. RRM
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY 1025 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 PAZ040-044-047-072-211530- LACKAWANNA PA-LUZERNE PA-WAYNE PA- 1025 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT NORTHEASTERN LUZERNE...SOUTHERN LACKAWANNA AND WAYNE COUNTIES... * AT 1023 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR GLENDALE...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... YOSTVILLE AND FELLS CORNERS AT 1030 AM EDT... MOSCOW AND ELMHURST AT 1035 AM EDT... QUICKTOWN AND OLYPHANT AT 1040 AM EDT... DRINKER AND WIMMERS AT 1045 AM EDT... CORTEZ AND ARCHBALD AT 1050 AM EDT... TRESSLARVILLE AND LAKE ARIEL AT 1055 AM EDT... SOUTH CANAAN AT 1100 AM EDT... HEADLEY AND WAYMART AT 1110 AM EDT... THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND/OR DAMAGING WINDS. RRM
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
1100 AM EDT FRI AUG 21 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0948 AM FUNNEL CLOUD 2 W MOSCOW 41.34N 75.57W
08/21/2009 LACKAWANNA PA LAW ENFORCEMENT
REPORTED TO LACKAWANNA COUNTY 911 CENTER BY A PROBATION
OFFICER TRAVELLING ON INTERSTATE 380 NEAR MOSCOW.
&&
EMGThe Albany radar (KENX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:57 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees were snapped off, and a roof was blown off a house porch.
Trees were blown down into the east bound lane of Route 17 between exits 101 and 102.
Numerous trees were blown down.
Two large tents were blown over and limbs on several trees were broken at Lochmor Golf Course.
A funnel cloud was observed about 1/2 mile from the location of damage in Bethel.
A tree fell through a house.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, August 2009
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: 194101, 194102, 194103, 194104, 194100, 194105, 194099.