F1 tornado, Lake Ronkonkoma to Selden, New York, June 30, 1998

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

June 30, 1998

Touchdown

8:15 AM EDT (12:15 UTC)

Path length

0.3 miles (0.5 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Suffolk County

Touchdown point

40.830, -73.120

Lift-off point

40.830, -73.120

Record number

1221

On June 30th, two "waves" of severe weather occurred: the first during the morning and the second during the evening.The first wave included an isolated severe thunderstorm that spawned two weak tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds as it moved across Central Suffolk County.The first tornado (F1) touched down along Lake Shore Road, south of Portion Road in Lake Ronkonkoma. It downed several large trees and power lines. Trees were blown into houses and caused structural damage. This tornado then lifted and funnel clouds were observed before another touchdown (F0) occurred on the campus of Suffolk Community College in Selden. Numerous trees were uprooted and fell on cars and wires on the campus. More tree damage occurred along Middle Country Road and Mooney Pond Road in Selden.The first wave also included a line of thunderstorms that moved east across Orange County. Thunderstorms produced high winds that downed trees in Goshen and Chester. A funnel cloud was also observed between Goshen and Chester.The second wave included lines of severe thunderstorms that produced high winds, large hail, and frequent lightning. This resulted in widespread damage across the region.In Orange County, high winds downed many trees and power lines. Significant damage to trees and houses occurred in Monroe and Newburgh. High winds also blew a trailer upside down on Bark Lane, off Big Island Road in Florida. Four people were injured and required medical treatment at Arden Hill Hospital. Lightning struck a house in Pine Bush, which ignited a fire and caused structural damage.In Rockland County, high winds downed power lines in New City and trees in Hillcrest and Stony Point. A tree fell into a hospital in Stony Point.In Westchester County, high winds downed trees in Peekskill and Yorktown.In Bronx County, hail damaged windows.In Queens County, high winds downed tree limbs that struck and injured 3 girls. One girl was seriously injured and required surgery.In Nassau County, 0.88-inch diameter hail fell in Jericho and 0.75-inch diameter hail fell in Oyster Bay. High winds downed trees and power lines. In Syosset, high winds blew off a roof from a house.In Suffolk County, an F1 tornado was confirmed in Mt. Sinai. The damage path extended from 114 Hickory Street to the corner of Marcy Drive and Westcliff Drive, then down Marcy Drive and across Chestnut Street. Several large trees were uprooted and damage to house shingles and roofs occurred along the path. Elsewhere in Suffolk County, high winds downed trees and power lines.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

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 General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 11:01 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.

Islip/Macarthur (ISP), 4 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in New YorkEvery tornado in New York since 1950Warnings in force in New York nowThe forecast where you are

12 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.