Tornadoes · United States · New York · 2007

EF1 tornado, Castleton Corners to Tompkinsville, New York, August 8, 2007

From Castleton Corners to Tompkinsville, this EF1 tornado ran 1.9 miles across Richmond County on August 8, 2007, touching down at 6:22 AM EDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
August 8, 2007
Touchdown
6:22 AM EDT (10:22 UTC)
Lifted
6:30 AM EDT (10:30 UTC)
On the ground
8 minutes
Path length
1.9 miles (3.1 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Richmond County
Touchdown point
40.627, -74.108
Lift-off point
40.630, -74.080
Record number
0708080422-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An approaching cold font, interacting with energy aloft, produced numerous thunderstorms, including one which produced two tornadoes across Southern New York City, and later produced wind damage in Nassau County. In addition, the storms produced copious amounts of rainfall which caused widespread significant flash flooding in New York City, including several subway lines, and Long Island.

The first tornado touchdown was in Staten Island at approximately |6:22 am in the vicinity of St. Austins Place in the Livingston-Randall Manor area. The tornado moved east, with additional damage occurring in the Tompkinsville area. Most of the damage in Staten Island was to trees, and estimated at EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds of 86 to 100 mph. ||Based on re-analysis of radar data, the Staten Island tornado apparently dissipated as a second circulation developed just north of the first circulation. The damage in Tompkinsville may be a result of this second circulation. |

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
17:00 UTC20:02 UTCHeat AdvisoryOKX
10:08 UTC12:30 UTCFlash Flood WarningOKX
10:28 UTC10:38 UTCTornado WarningOKX
17:00 UTC22:00 UTCHeat AdvisoryOKX

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:47 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 air that afternoon

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.

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), 00:00Z

10.4 hours before the tornado, 107 km from the path. August 8, 2007.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2007-08-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 98 joules per kilogram, CIN -237, lifted condensation level 1372 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Brookhaven, NY at 00:00Z on 2007-08-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 29 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
98 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-237 J/kg
Surface CAPE
327 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1372 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Newark Intl (EWR), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
08:51 UTC7975210° 9 kt1006.8TSRA BR
09:13 UTC78.875.2260° 9 kt1007.5+TSRA BR
09:34 UTC75.273.4 5 kt231008.1+TSRA FG
09:51 UTC7774230° 7 kt151006.4+TSRA BR
10:07 UTC7773.4150° 9 kt171005.8+TSRA BR
10:32 UTC7773.4320° 10 kt201006.4-TSRA BR
10:51 UTC7774310° 11 kt1007.1TS BR
11:17 UTC7773.4330° 7 kt1007.1BR
11:51 UTC7873240° 4 kt1006.8HZ
12:17 UTC78.875.2250° 5 kt1007.1BR

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

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 10:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
09:49 UTCHEAVY RAIN 0Todt HillRichmond, NY*** 1 FATAL *** TRAFFIC ACCIDENT RESULTING IN FATALITY. HEAVY RAIN AND PONDING CAUSE DRIVER TO PULL OVER AND WAS REAR ENDED. STATEN ISLAND EXPRESSWAY AND BRADLEY AVENUE.
10:22 UTCTORNADO 12 W TompkinsvilleRichmond, NYDAMAGE IN THE VACINITY OF SAINT AUSTINS PLACE IN LIVINGSTON AREA OF STATEN ISLAND. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE IN THE TOMPKINVILLE AREA.
10:32 UTCMARINE TSTM WIND 471 N Bay RidgeKings, NYIS 30 - MARY WHITE OVINGTON SCHOOL.
10:35 UTCTORNADO 2Bay RidgeKings, NY*** 9 INJ *** EF-2 DAMAGE CONFIRMED BY NWS STORM SURVEY TEAM - 8 MINOR INJURIES AND 1 MODERATE REPORTED BY NYC OEM.
10:35 UTCTORNADOBay RidgeKings, NYEF-2 DAMAGE CONFIRMED BY NWS STORM SURVEY TEAM. SOME INJURIES OCCURRED, BUT NUMBER IS NOT YET KNOWN.
10:37 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 S AstoriaQueens, NYFLOODING CLOSING LANES ON WEST BOUND LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY AT BROOKLYN-QUEENS EXPRESSWAY.
10:40 UTCTORNADO 11 N FlatbushKings, NYNUMEROUS TREES...APROXIMATELY 30...UPROOTED ALONG OCEAN AVENUE BETWEEN BEVERLEY ROAD AND CHURCH AVENUE. THE DAMAGE ALSO EXTENDS TO THE WEST TO ARGYLE RD. THIS IS AN APPARENT ADDITIONAL TOUCHDOWN OF THE SAME TORNADO THAT
10:43 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ne Midtown ManhattanNew York, NYLANE CLOSURES ON FDR DRIVE BETWEEN 63RD AND 78TH STREETS.
10:43 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 S GreenpointKings, NYFLODING ON THE BROOKLYN-QUEENS EXPRESSWAY AT FLUSHING AVENUE.
10:46 UTCFLASH FLOODHarlemNew York, NYFLOODING ON THE HARLEM RIVER DRIVE AT 145TH STREET.
10:50 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ne Midtown ManhattanNew York, NYSEVERE FLOODING CLOSED FDR DRIVE.
10:59 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Nw JamaicaQueens, NYSEVERE FLOODING ON GRAND CENTRAL PARKWAY AT JACKIE ROBINSON PARKWAY.
11:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S Bay RidgeKings, NYNUMEROUS TREES AND WIRES DOWN, SEVERAL HOMES WITH ROOFS BLOWN OFF AND OTHER STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN TOWN OF DYKER HEIGHTS
11:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wsw Crown HeightsKings, NYNUMEROUS TREES AND WIRES DOWN, SEVERAL HOMES WITH ROOFS BLOWN OFF AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN TOWN OF PARK SLOPE
11:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Sw Crown HeightsKings, NYNUMEROUS TREES/WIRES DOWN, SEVERAL HOMES WITH ROOFS BLOWN OFF AND OTHER STRUCTUAL DAMAGE IN TOWN OF SUNSET PARK
11:03 UTCFLASH FLOOD2 W WyandanchSuffolk, NYROAD FLOODING ON LITTLE EAST NECK ROAD
11:05 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S FlatbushKings, NY25 TO 30 TREES UPROOTED STARTING AT BEVERLY ROAD AT OCEAN PARKWAY AND CONTINUING NORTHWARD SEVERAL BLOCKS TOWARDS CHURCH AVENUE, PROSPECT PARKWAY HAD 2 LANES CLOSED DUE TO FALLEN TREES...POSSIBLE TORNADO...PENDING ON RES
11:05 UTCFLASH FLOODTriborough BridgeQueens, NYSEVERE FLOODING ON GRAND CENTRAL PARKWAY AT ENTRANCE TO TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE.
11:15 UTCFLASH FLOODGarden CityNassau, NYNUMEROUS CARS SUBMERGED ON CHERRY VALLEY AVENUE AND MEADOW STREET AT LIRR UNDERPASS
11:36 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ne Kennedy AirportQueens, NYSEVERE FLOODING ON BELT PARKWAY AT 225TH STREET.
12:28 UTCFLASH FLOODE WoodlawnBronx, NYFLOODING CLOSED BRONX RIVER PARKWAY AT 233RD STREET.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in New YorkEvery tornado in New York since 1950Warnings in force in New York nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 8, 2007

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 86:32 AM EDTEF2Kings, NY3.91009
August 83:59 PM CDTEF0McPherson, SD0.210
August 85:02 PM CDTEF0Lewis, MO0.110
August 86:45 PM CDTEF0Atchison, MO0.125

What this means

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.

Sources

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