A high-end severe weather event unfolded across the Northeast on Wednesday October 7, 2020. A line of thunderstorms originated across New York state and moved eastward into New England during the afternoon hours, producing widespread damage.
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 ALY wrote it up.
A high-end severe weather event unfolded across the Northeast on Wednesday October 7, 2020. A line of thunderstorms originated across New York state and moved eastward into New England during the afternoon hours, producing widespread damage. Over a dozen reports occurred across Berkshire County. Both the Harriman-and-West and Pittsfield Municipal airports measured a wind gust of 60 mph as the line moved through. One man was killed when a tree fell onto him on a golf cart at the Wyantenuck Country Club. This event was classified as a serial derecho based on the 320 mile long damage swath and distribution of significant wind gusts (75 mph and above). The fact that trees across the region were fully leafed exacerbated the resulting wind damage and produced widespread power outages. There were over 2,500 power outages across western Massachusetts.
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 Oct 7, 3:04 PM EST, 13 minutes earlier.
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</html>Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albany NY 425 AM EDT Wed Oct 7 2020 CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ047>054-058>061-063>066-VTZ013>015-081100- Northern Litchfield-Southern Litchfield-Northern Berkshire- Southern Berkshire-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-Bennington-Western Windham-Eastern Windham- 425 AM EDT Wed Oct 7 2020 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 2 AM EDT THURSDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southern Vermont, northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and the Capital District, Schoharie Valley, eastern Catskills, Helderbergs, Mid Hudson Valley, and Taconics in eastern New York. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Wind Advisory. As a cold front moves through the region, there is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. There is a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms with the main threat being damaging winds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this afternoon. NYZ032-033-038>043-082>084-081100- Northern Herkimer-Hamilton-Southern Herkimer-Southern Fulton- Montgomery-Northern Saratoga-Northern Warren-Northern Washington- Northern Fulton-Southeast Warren-Southern Washington- 425 AM EDT Wed Oct 7 2020 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the Mohawk Valley, southern Adirondacks, and Lake George Saratoga Region in eastern New York. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Wind Advisory. As a cold front moves through the region, there is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. There is a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms with the main threat being damaging winds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this afternoon.
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</html>The Albany radar (KENX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:18 UTC.
14 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak wind gust of 52 knots was recorded at the Harriman-and-West Airport.
Multiple trees were downed.
A tree was downed on a car.
Multiple trees were downed.
Multiple trees were downed.
A tree was downed in Lanesborough near Route 8.
A tree and wires were downed on Route 9 at the intersection of Hill Street and Hill Road.
A peak wind gust of 52 knots was recorded at the Pittsfield Municipal Airport.
A large tree limb was downed.
Multiple trees were downed.
Parts of Route 20 were closed in Lee due to downed trees.
A tree fell on a man on a golf cart at the Wyantenuck Country Club golf course resulting in a fatality. Time was estimated by radar.
A tree was downed.
Trees and wires were downed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Berkshire | 2020-10-07 | 71 | Male | Golfing | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Massachusetts in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, October 2020
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: 923349, 923319, 923317, 923323, 923324, 923321, 923325, 923354, 923327, 923330, 923332, 923338, 923340, 923342.