Tornado in New York, October 29, 2018

Name: Tornado in New York, October 29, 2018
Start: 2018-10-29T06:35
End: 2018-10-29T06:41
Location: New York

October 29, 2018 · NWS OKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An upper level disturbance associated with an upper level low in Southeastern Canada, along with a surface trough of low pressure approaching from the west resulted in a line of severe thunderstorms which produced a tornado over Fishers Island, NY.

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: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 OKX wrote it up.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 29, 3:36 AM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 29, 3:36 AM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 29, 4:26 AM EST, 2 hours 9 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 29, 5:53 AM EST, 42 minutes before

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The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Suffolk

When: October 29, 6:35 AM EST to 6:41 AM EST
Where: Suffolk County, 1.17 mi ENE of Fishers Is to 2.92 mi NE of Fishers Is
Rating: EF1
Path length: 1.96 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 41.255, -71.998

The tornado began around one quarter of a mile east of |Wilderness Point on Wilderness Road. A circular house sustained minor |damage with glass shattered and blown nearby. A beam of the house was |lifted up a hill and dropped near another home. Several trees were |uprooted and snapped, and a shed was toppled over. A few trees were |downed at another home across the street in a convergent pattern, with |a small fence toppled over. This damage was consistent with an EF0 |tornado. The tornado continued moving to the northeast with EF0 damage |near a home on Isabella Beach Road. Many trees were uprooted and |snapped. One tree fell over and a piece of its trunk was forced several |feet into the ground. The EF0 tornado continued northeast along |Isabella Beach Road with a few trees and branches downed by the |intersection of Old Mallory Road. More significant damage occurred |about a tenth of a mile from the intersection of Old Mallory Road and |East End Road. Large hardwood trees were snapped, twisted, and sheared |off. Several trees were downed and uprooted. A large branch fell |through the roof of the garage on the property and another branch |caused minor damage to the back of the roof of the home. The damage at |this location was consistent with an EF1 tornado with estimated max |wind speeds of 90 mph. The tornado weakened to an EF0 as it continued |moving northeast. Several trees were snapped and uprooted near the |intersection of East End Road and Cedar Ridge. A small shed was also |toppled over. A few trees were downed about a tenth of a mile north of |the intersection of East End Road and Clay Point Road. This is where |the tornado moved off of Fishers island.

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history The tornado archive for New York, 2018 Warnings in New York, October 2018

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 789548.