F1 tornado, Copake Falls, New York, July 3, 1997

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

July 3, 1997

Touchdown

5:23 PM EDT (21:23 UTC)

Path length

5.3 miles (8.5 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$60,000

County

Columbia County

Touchdown point

42.120, -73.600

Lift-off point

42.150, -73.480

Record number

901

On July 3, a fast moving cold front crossed eastern New York during the afternoon and evening hours. The front initiated many severe thunderstorms and three tornadoes in Columbia County. In Columbia County near Copake Lake, an F1 tornado produced minor damage to two houses, scattered parts of a barn across county highway 7A and downed many trees and wires. In Columbia County near Canaan, two tornadoes produced extensive damage. The F1 tornado formed just southwest of Beebe Pond, moved northeast and terminated near the intersection of state routes 295 and 22. The tornado damaged several residences and moved a car port. The F2 tornado initiated near the intersection of state routes 295 and 22 and moved eastward across the New York border into Berkshire County Massachusetts where it ended as an F1 tornado. At the County Caretaker Lawn and Garden Center, four large greenhouses incurred structural damage. On Shaker Ridge Road, a newly constructed three story home had the roof completely blown off along with the rear exterior wall. The detached garage was blown off the foundation and destroyed. Since this area is forested, many trees and wires were downed by the tornadoes resulting in power outages. At the South Albany Airport near Selkirk, thunderstorm winds destroyed a Cessna 172 and a vintage1940's Luscombe 8E. The winds also ripped a roof off a garage and downed several trees. In Schoharie County at Charlotteville, straight line winds rolled over a mobile home with five people inside. A second mobile home which was unoccupied was lifted on top of the rolled over mobile home. The five people sustained injuries. In Rensselaer County at Stephentown, thunderstorm winds lifted a barn and dropped it on East Road. Many trees and power lines were also downed by the wind. The thunderstorms also produced hail in parts of Schoharie, Washington, Albany and Columbia Counties. A combination of damaging winds and lightning, left fifteen to twenty thousand people without power across eastern New York. A lifeguard at the Northhampton Beach State Campsite in Northville was struck by lightning. The individual was hospitalized and released with no serious injuries.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

8 minutes of warning. NWS ALY issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:15 UTC, 8 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:15 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 10:25 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1997 tornado in New YorkEvery tornado in New York since 1950Warnings in force in New York nowThe forecast where you are

9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.