An upper level disturbance was located to the south of the region across the mid-Atlantic States. Although winds aloft were rather light, the combination of the nearby upper level storm and a small amount of instability that developed during the afternoon sparked a few isolated thunderstorms.
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The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.
An upper level disturbance was located to the south of the region across the mid-Atlantic States. Although winds aloft were rather light, the combination of the nearby upper level storm and a small amount of instability that developed during the afternoon sparked a few isolated thunderstorms. One of these thunderstorms produced frequent cloud to ground lightning, which caused damage to a few trees and power lines at the Saratoga National Battlefield in Stillwater. The battlefield lost power as a result of the downed wires. In addition, the thunderstorm produced a wind gust strong enough to knock over one tree in Easton. Thunderstorm activity quickly diminished later in the evening after sunset.
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 Aug 25, 2:38 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 338 PM EDT SAT AUG 25 2012 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE WILL REMAIN ACROSS OUR REGION THROUGH TOMORROW. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL DRIFT NORTH THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL NY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH OUR REGION TUESDAY MORNING WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SUNDAY MORNING/... ISOLATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD LINGER INTO PART OF THE EVENING THEN DISSIPATE. UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IN THE MID ATLANTIC COULD ALLOW FOR SOME MID AND HIGH CLOUDS TO DRIFT THROUGH THE REGION AT TIMES...AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SHOULD CONTINUE TO SLOWLY INCREASE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE A LITTLE BIT WARMER THAN PAST NIGHTS...IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY/... UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IN THE MID ATLANTIC SHOULD DRIFT NORTH AND NORTHWEST INTO WESTERN PA/NY THROUGH TOMORROW...AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND PERIODS OF MID AND HIGH CLOUDS SHOULD INCREASE TONIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT. THERE IS A GENERAL CONSENSUS IN GUIDANCE THAT THE SYSTEM WEAKENS AS IT TRACKS MAINLY WEST OF OUR REGION...SO ONLY ISOLATED ACTIVITY SUGGESTED TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WITH THE INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND MID AND HIGH CLOUDS...LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT SHOULD BE A LITTLE WARMER THAN THE PAST FEW NIGHTS...IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. HIGHS SUNDAY IN THE MID 80S MOST AREAS. UPPER ENERGY FROM CANADA TRACKS TOWARD OUR REGION MONDAY... SCRAPING THROUGH OUR REGION TUESDAY. THE WEAKENED UPPER SYSTEM IN WESTERN PA/NY GETS SQUEEZED THROUGH OUR REGION AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT...WHICH SUPPORTS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EVERYWHERE MONDAY AFTERNOON..WITH THE BEST COVERAGE IN THE EASTERN CATSKILLS...SCHOHARIE VALLEY... WESTERN MOHAWK VALLEY AND SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS. WITH THE INCREASED COVERAGE OF CLOUDS AND SOME SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO THE REGION...HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. THE SURFACE WIND SHIFT BOUNDARY TRACKS THROUGH BEFORE THE DEEP COLD ADVECTION BEGINS TUESDAY. SOME LINGERING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH GRADUALLY DECREASING CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM RISING TOO MUCH DURING THE DAY. THE BOUNDARY LAYER THERMAL GRADIENT TRACKS THROUGH DURING THE DAY ALSO SUPPORTING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THIS ZONE OF ENHANCED FORCING. HIGHS TUESDAY IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S...WITH LOWER TO MID 70S IN THE SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... A FAIRLY QUIET EXTENDED FORECAST IS EXPECTED MID WEEK INTO NEXT WEEKEND WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION BY THE MID WEEK. AFTER A BRIEF COOL DOWN...EXPECT TEMPS TO MODERATE BACK ABOVE NORMAL...AS THE HIGH MOVES NEAR THE MID ATLANTIC COAST BY FRIDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FOR NEXT WEEKEND...WITH PERHAPS THE LEFTOVER CLOSED CIRCULATION OF ISAAC FOR POSSIBLY SOME NEEDED RAINFALL. AGAIN...THE MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE IS IN DISAGREEMENT WITH THE TRACKING OF THE REMNANT LEFTOVERS OF ISAAC. THE LATEST ECMWF WOULD HAVE A DRY FORECAST FOR THE ENTIRE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD TIME FRAME FOR ERN NY AND WRN NEW ENGLAND. WE TENDED TO LEAN CLOSER TO THE HPC/GFS GUIDANCE IN THE LONG TERM. THE ONLY CHANCES OF RAINFALL ARE IN THE FCST GRIDS FOR FRI NIGHT INTO SATURDAY WITH THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT FROM THE NORTH AND WEST...AND PERHAPS SOME OF THE ISAAC LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE BEING UTILIZED BY THE UPPER TROUGH. TEMPS WILL BE SEASONABLE TUE NIGHT INTO THU...AND THEN BE A SHADE ABOVE NORMAL FRIDAY INTO WEEKEND. EXPECT HIGHS IN THE U60S AND 70S ON WED...70S TO L80S ON THU...AND LOWER TO M80S IN THE VALLEYS ON FRI AND SAT...WITH M70S TO L80S OVER THE MTNS. LOWS WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE M40S AND 50S TUE NIGHT INTO THU NIGHT...WITH MILDER TEMPS FRI NIGHT IN THE U50S TO L60S. HUMIDITY LEVELS SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE FOR THE DURATION OF THE LONG TERM WITH A FAIR AMOUNT OF SUNSHINE. && .AVIATION /19Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER NEW ENGLAND WILL REMAIN IN PLACE AND INFLUENCE THE WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD ENDING 18Z SUNDAY. BKN HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS LOOK TO PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD WITH FEW-SCT CU DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. RADIATIONAL FOG IS LIKELY ONCE AGAIN LATER TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. HOWEVER... DUE TO THE CURRENT DRY CONDITIONS DO NOT EXPECT FOG TO BE TOO WIDESPREAD. FOG WILL LIKELY LOWER CIGS/VSBYS TO IFR AT KGFL/KPSF TONIGHT BETWEEN 05Z AND 07Z...WITH MVFR VSBYS POSSIBLE AT KPOU/KALB. SURFACE WINDS WILL SOUTHERLY AT 8 KTS OR LESS THROUGH DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS...AND CALM OR LIGHT AND VARIABLE AT NIGHT. OUTLOOK... SUN AFTN...VFR...ISOLD -SHRA/-TSRA. MON-TUE...VFR...ISOLD-SCT SHRA/TSRA. WED...VFR. NO SIG WX. && .FIRE WEATHER... HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE WILL REMAIN ACROSS OUR REGION THROUGH TOMORROW. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL DRIFT NORTH THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL NY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH OUR REGION TUESDAY MORNING WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. NO SIGNIFICANT FIRE WEATHER RELATED ISSUES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM IN THE EASTERN CATSKILLS...SOUTHERN VERMONT AND SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS TOMORROW AFTERNOON. THEN AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL RECOVER TO 80 TO 100 PERCENT TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT WITH HEAVY DEW FORMATION...AND DROP TO 35 TO 50 PERCENT ON SUNDAY. WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR RAIN MONDAY...MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES SHOULD DROP TO THE 60 TO 70 PERCENT RANGE. WINDS WILL BE SOUTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH THIS EVENING...LIGHT AND VARIABLE TONIGHT AND SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH ON SUNDAY. WINDS SUNDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE...THEN BECOME SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST AT 15 MPH OR LESS MONDAY. && .HYDROLOGY... NO HYDRO PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS. WIDELY SCATTERED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS EVENING INTO EARLY THIS EVENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE PASSES SOUTH OF NEW YORK STATE. THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE MAINLY CONFINED TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHERN VERMONT AND THE NORTHERN BERKSHIRES. DRY WEATHER IS THEN EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND SOME EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY ALONG AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE REGION. TOTAL QPF AMOUNTS THROUGH TUESDAY ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN HALF AN INCH...ALTHOUGH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE IN THUNDERSTORMS. THIS PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO HAVE LITTLE IF ANY IMPACT ON STREAMS AND RIVERS. FOR DETAILS ON SPECIFIC AREA RIVERS AND LAKES...INCLUDING OBSERVED AND FORECAST RIVER STAGES AND LAKE ELEVATIONS...PLEASE VISIT THE ADVANCED HYDROLOGIC PREDICTION SERVICE /AHPS/ GRAPHS ON OUR WEBSITE. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...NONE. NY...NONE. MA...NONE. VT...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...NAS NEAR TERM...NAS SHORT TERM...NAS LONG TERM...WASULA AVIATION...GJM FIRE WEATHER...NAS HYDROLOGY...NAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 403 PM EDT SAT AUG 25 2012 CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-058>061-063>066- 082>084-VTZ013>015-261100- NORTHERN LITCHFIELD-SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD-NORTHERN BERKSHIRE- SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE-NORTHERN HERKIMER-HAMILTON-SOUTHERN HERKIMER- SOUTHERN FULTON-MONTGOMERY-NORTHERN SARATOGA-NORTHERN WARREN- NORTHERN WASHINGTON-SCHOHARIE-WESTERN SCHENECTADY- EASTERN SCHENECTADY-SOUTHERN SARATOGA-WESTERN ALBANY-EASTERN ALBANY- WESTERN RENSSELAER-EASTERN RENSSELAER-WESTERN GREENE-EASTERN GREENE- WESTERN COLUMBIA-EASTERN COLUMBIA-WESTERN ULSTER-EASTERN ULSTER- WESTERN DUTCHESS-EASTERN DUTCHESS-NORTHERN FULTON-SOUTHEAST WARREN- SOUTHERN WASHINGTON-BENNINGTON-WESTERN WINDHAM-EASTERN WINDHAM- 403 PM EDT SAT AUG 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT...WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The Albany radar (KENX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:59 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
One tree was reported down due to thunderstorm winds one mile north of the Rensselaer-Washington County line on Route 40 in Easton.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, August 2012
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: 396514.