Showers and thunderstorms along and ahead of a cold front resulted in widespread wind damage across eastern New York during the afternoon into the evening hours on May 16. There were a few severe hail reports and a funnel cloud sighting over Schoharie County.
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.
Showers and thunderstorms along and ahead of a cold front resulted in widespread wind damage across eastern New York during the afternoon into the evening hours on May 16. There were a few severe hail reports and a funnel cloud sighting over Schoharie County.
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 May 16, 11:55 AM EST, 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Albany NY 1255 PM EDT Mon May 16 2022 .SYNOPSIS... A warm and humid air mass will remain across our region into today. A strong cold front will bring severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. In wake of the cold front passage, much cooler, less humid and windy conditions will develop Tuesday into Wednesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Enhanced Risk of Severe Thunderstorms across eastern New York and a Slight Risk for western New England today... Severe thunderstorms watch 227 issued, valid through 8 PM. Some isolated to scattered showers and storms have formed over eastern NY and western New England, while organized storms, some severe are tracking out of central NY/PA. low level dew points have risen into the 60s and surface based instabilities are above 1000 j/kg. midlevel lapse rates not so steep but enough shear and instability for some potential damaging winds and maybe a little hail. Directional shear suggests an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION: A strong progressive upper level trough over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions is forecast to become negatively tilted as it approaches and moves eastward across the area later this afternoon into the evening. At the surface, a cyclone is expected to develop along the system's cold front across Upstate NY and track into northern New England this evening. Strong dynamics/forcing, an increasing wind field, and sufficient combination of instability and deep layer shear will result in enhanced probability of severe thunderstorms. Model guidance in generally good agreement with regards to severe storm parameters. Surface based CAPE of around 1000-1500 J/Kg (00Z HREF mean and GFS) expected to develop with some pockets of locally higher values given some expected clearing once early morning fog dissipates. 0-6 km shear will increase to around 30-40 kt during the afternoon to early evening allowing for storm organization. Strong forcing should generally lead to mainly QLCS/LEWP, although some of the CAMs are indicating some isolated cells out ahead of the main line. Investigating forecast soundings, the best shear is generally top-heavy (strongest in the 3-6 km layer), thus supporting damaging winds as the main threat. There is some veering in the 0-3 km layer, and the Sig Tor Parameter from the HREF is indicating values slightly exceeding 1 in parts of the eastern Catskills with 0-3 km SRH values of 100-200 south of Albany. So will have to watch for rotation in any isolated cells that develop ahead of the main line and also a possible brief spin-up tornado associated with QLCS. Large hail looks to be a lesser threat with somewhat modest CAPE in the hail growth region (-10C to -30C layer) and marginal 700-500 mb lapse rates around 6.0-6.5 degC/km, but cannot be ruled out in some of the taller/persistent updrafts. Storms will produce downpours, but overall quick storm motions should reduce the flash flood threat. Minor flooding of urban, poor drainage and low lying area is possible though. With regards to timing, based on the latest HRRR/NAMNest/NSSL HRW areas west of the Hudson Valley should see the main line or lines of storms moving from west to east between 3-6 PM, the Hudson Valley and vicinity between 4-7 PM, and areas east of the Hudson Valley (including western New England) between 5-8 PM. One caveat is isolated cells may develop out ahead of main line 1-2 hours prior. The convection will likely move east of our area after 8 PM. Breezy and cooler conditions will develop behind the cold front tonight. There will be noticeable drop in humidity levels tonight, with dewpoints falling through the 50s and into the 40s by early Tuesday morning. Low temperatures will be much cooler than recent nights, with lower 50s in the Hudson Valley and mid/upper 40s across areas east/west of the Hudson Valley. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... It will be much cooler on Tuesday in a developing northwest flow/cold advection regime. A short wave is expected to move through the mean trough aloft, bringing scattered showers mainly to areas north of Albany. It will become increasingly windy during the day, with forecast soundings showing mixing heights reaching up to 750 mb with good momentum transfer. Will increase winds speeds and mention gusts of 30-40 mph. Highs will be around 5 degrees below normal, ranging from the 50s in the higher terrain to mid/upper 60s in the valleys. A few showers may linger into the evening across parts of the Adirondacks and southern Greens, with dry conditions expected overnight. A northwest breeze will persist, which will prevent temperatures from really bottoming out. Lows should mainly be in the mid 30s/upper 30s in the mountains to mid/upper 40s in valleys. Wednesday looks to be a dry and tranquil day, as surface high pressure gradually builds eastward into our region with a zonal WNW flow aloft. Temperatures will be a bit warmer than Tuesday, but still slightly below normal. A northwest breeze will persist much of the day, since the surface high won't be moving overhead until late. Wind speeds will not be as strong as Tuesday though. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... Changeable conditions through the long term portion of the forecast, with fairly progressive mid/upper level pattern across much of the CONUS. Initially, a weak upper level disturbance passes near or north of the region Thursday, bringing some showers late Wednesday night into Thursday, although moisture may be somewhat limited, keeping overall shower coverage scattered. Wed night min temps mainly in the 40s, with some 30s possible across the southern Adirondacks. Thursday max temps generally in the mid 60s to lower 70s, with Thursday night min temps in the 40s and 50s. Behind this disturbance, an upper level trough is expected to dig into the Rockies and northern Plains, allowing for mid/upper level ridging to build along or off the east coast. A deep southwest flow is expected to develop Friday-Saturday, potentially allowing for a quick warming trend. Will have to watch for some isolated/scattered showers/thunderstorms on the leading edge of this warm southwest flow on Friday/Friday night, particularly across the southern Adirondacks. Highs Friday in the mid 70s to lower 80s, while remaining quite mild Friday night, with min temps in the 50s to lower 60s. Then, a warm to hot day is possible Saturday, as 850 temperatures soar to +17 to +19C. This could allow for max temps to reach 85-90 for lower elevations, and 80-85 for higher terrain, with some possibility for even warmer max temps. This surge of warmth looks relatively short-lived, as the aforementioned upper level trough is expected to translate east Saturday night-Sunday, allowing for a cold front to pass through the region sometime late Saturday night or Sunday. Depending on the timing of the front, which remains uncertain, there could be showers and thunderstorms ahead of and with the cold front, with some locally strong thunderstorms possible should the front and/or a pre-frontal trough pass through during peak heating. Will include chance PoPs for late Saturday afternoon into Sunday, although current model consensus suggests frontal passage may occur Sunday morning, potentially limiting convective potential. Max temps on Sunday will be largely dependent on timing of frontal passage. Current forecast indicates highs in the 60s for higher terrain, and lower/mid 70s for valleys, with temps cooling into the 40s for most areas Sunday night, with some 30s possible across portions of the southern Adirondacks and southern VT. && .AVIATION /18Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... A cold front with a strong wave of low pressure will bring showers and strong to severe thunderstorms to the region this afternoon into the early evening. Areas of fog and low clouds will lift between 12Z-14Z/MON. VFR conditions will then return with a few cumulus and sct-bkn high clouds. Isolated showers/thunderstorms may fire initially ahead of the prefrontal disturbance 17Z-19Z/MON. However, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to cross the TAF sites between roughly 20Z/MON-00Z/TUE. We used TEMPO groups for all the TAF sites to denote a brief period of IFR vsbys/cigs and possibly wind gusts to 45 kts (could be greater) as the line of thunderstorms passes through just ahead of the cold front. In the wake of the storms and cold front, lingering rain showers will be possible through 06Z/Tue, with MVFR to VFR Cigs. Conditions should then improve to VFR after 06Z/Tue. A light south/southeast wind at less than 5 KT is expected to increase to 5-10 KT by late this morning, with some gusts of 15-20 KT possible this afternoon ahead of any thunderstorms. The line of thunderstorms should pass through between 20Z/Mon-00Z/Tue, with winds shifting into the west to southwest in its wake, at 8-12 KT, with some gusts of 20-25 KT possible, especially after 03Z/Tue. Outlook... Monday Night: High Operational Impact. Breezy. Likely SHRA...TSRA. Tuesday: Low Operational Impact. Breezy. Slight Chance of SHRA. Tuesday Night: Low Operational Impact. Breezy. NO SIG WX. Wednesday: Low Operational Impact. Breezy. NO SIG WX. Wednesday Night: Low Operational Impact. Isolated SHRA. Thursday: Moderate Operational Impact. Scattered SHRA. Thursday Night: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. Friday: Low Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. && .FIRE WEATHER... Westerly winds will gust 30 to 40 mph on Tuesday... A warm and humid air mass will remain across our region into today. A strong cold front will bring severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. In wake of the cold front passage, much cooler, less humid and windy conditions will develop Tuesday into Wednesday. Minimum relative humidity values will only be around 50 to 65 percent today, increasing to maximum values of between 80 and 100 percent tonight. RH values will decrease to minimum values of around 35 to 55 percent on Tuesday. Winds today will be southerly around 5 to 10 mph, becoming westerly tonight behind a cold front passage and increasing to 5 to 15 mph. Winds on Tuesday will remain westerly and increase to 10 to 20 mph with gusts of 30 to 40 mph. && .HYDROLOGY... A strong cold front will move across the area this afternoon into this evening, bringing widespread showers and thunderstorms. Downpours will occur with thunderstorms and may result in minor flooding of urban, poor drainage and low lying areas. Thunderstorms will be moving fairly quickly though, so the threat of flash flooding is low. Only minor rises may occur on larger rivers and streams. Mainly drier, cooler and breezy conditions are then expected Tuesday into Wednesday behind the cold front. A few showers will be possible on Tuesday, mainly north of Albany. 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...JPV NEAR TERM...NAS/JPV SHORT TERM...JPV LONG TERM...KL AVIATION...Picard FIRE WEATHER...JPV HYDROLOGY...JPV
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albany NY 407 AM EDT Mon May 16 2022 NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-058>061-063>066-082>084-171100- 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- 407 AM EDT Mon May 16 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for eastern New York. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. The Storm Prediction Center has placed eastern New York within an Enhanced Risk for severe thunderstorms today, as a strong cold front tracks through the region during the afternoon and evening. The main threat will be damaging wind gusts, although isolated occurrences of large hail are also possible. Thunderstorms may also produce downpours which could result in localized flooding of urban, poor drainage and low lying areas. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed today. CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-VTZ013>015-171100- Northern Litchfield-Southern Litchfield-Northern Berkshire- Southern Berkshire-Bennington-Western Windham-Eastern Windham- 407 AM EDT Mon May 16 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. The Storm Prediction Center has placed western New England within a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms today, as a strong cold front tracks through the region during the afternoon and evening. The main threat will be damaging wind gusts, although isolated occurrences of large hail are also possible. Thunderstorms may also produce heavy downpours which could result in localized flooding of urban, poor drainage and low lying areas. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed today.
The Albany radar (KENX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:14 UTC.
32 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree and wires were reported down on Caroline Street near Park Ave.
A tree and wires were reported down on a vehicle on Washington Street.
Quarter size hail was reported by a trained spotter in Herkimer County.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Tree was reported down on the road.
Law enforcement reported trees and wires down on power and cable lines on Fletcher Road.
There was video evidence of a funnel cloud along US 20 in Scoharie.
A power pole was reported down.
A tree was reported down on the road.
A tree and wires were reported down.
A tree was reported down.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Multiple trees and wires were reported down.
A tree was reported down near Bruce Street and 1st Street.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Quarter size hail was reported by a trained spotter in Ulster County.
Half dollar size hail was reported by a trained spotter in Ulster County.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Wires were reported down near Ravena.
A trained spotter reported multiple trees down.
Wires were reported down in Ravena.
There were reports of downed trees.
Trees and wires were reported down.
A tree was reported down.
A tree was reported down on the road.
Trees and wires were reported down.
Trees and wires were reported down.
A tree was reported down blocking two lanes of Taconic Parkway.
A tree was reported down blocking a roadway.
The public reported a large tree limb down.
A tree was reported down on wires.
Law enforcement reported a tree on the roadway.
A tree was reported down blocking the roadway near South Road at Old Saratoga Road.
A tree was reported down blocking Pearl St.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, May 2022
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: 1028761, 1028762, 1028757, 1028764, 1028767, 1028768, 1028769, 1028770, 1028758, 1028771, 1028772, 1028774, 1028776, 1028792, 1028777, 1028780, 1028781, 1028759, 1028760, 1028782, 1028795, 1028811, 1028794, 1028810, 1028789, 1028798, 1028783, 1028790, 1028797, 1028803, 1028805, 1028809, 1028784, 1028807, 1028786, 1028788.