Tornadoes · United States · New York · 2014

EF1 tornado, Verona, New York, June 17, 2014

This EF1 tornado ran 11.0 miles across Oneida County on June 17, 2014, touching down at 10:03 PM EDT and reaching 250 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
June 17, 2014
Touchdown
10:03 PM EDT (02:03 UTC)
Path length
11.0 miles (17.7 km)
Path width
250 yards (229 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Oneida County
Touchdown point
43.130, -75.580
Lift-off point
43.130, -75.580
Record number
1406172003-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A surface warm front lifted north through New York state on Tuesday, June 17th. This brought unstable air into the region and numerous severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours.

A severe thunderstorm produced EF1 tornado damage in Verona. This tornado had a maximum path width of 250 yards and a path length of 11 miles. It produced estimated wind speeds of 100 MPH and damaged several homes and buildings. The tornado also destroyed several sheds and a barn with signs and fencing taken out by the storm. The tornado resulted in a chaotic and chopped up pattern along its long and narrow path.

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.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 22:51 UTC and running to 03:25 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:00 UTC21:07 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchBGM
22:51 UTC03:25 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchBGM
01:11 UTC02:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
01:21 UTC02:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
01:53 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
02:11 UTC02:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
02:27 UTC04:21 UTCFlood AdvisoryBGM
02:33 UTC04:28 UTCFlood AdvisoryBGM

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:00 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.

Albany, NY (KALY), 00:00Z

2.1 hours before the tornado, 151 km from the path. June 18, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 2014-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 393 joules per kilogram, CIN -34, lifted condensation level 1637 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, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 2014-06-18The 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 150 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 45 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
393 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Surface CAPE
859 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1637 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.2
0-3 km lapse rate
7.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Albany, NY (KALY), 12:00Z

9.9 hours after it, 151 km from the path. June 18, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 2014-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -80221, lifted condensation level 755 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 2014-06-18The 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 130 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80221 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
755 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Ft Drum radar (KTYX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:03 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
01:36 UTCTSTM WND DMGTurinLewis, NYTREES AND WIRES DOWN
01:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGSyracuseOnondaga, NYLINES DOWN. ALSO IN CAMILLUS AND DEWITT
01:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGPort LeydenLewis, NYTREES AND WIRES DOWN
01:50 UTCHAIL 1EastwoodOnondaga, NY
02:03 UTCTORNADOVeronaOneida, NYEF1 TORNADO WITH ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS OF 100 MPH HAD A PATH WIDTH OF 250 YARDS AND A PATH LENGTH OF 11 MILES WHEN IT TOUCHED DOWN IN VERONA. SEVERAL HOMES AND BUILDINGS WERE DAMAGED. SEVERAL SHEDS AND A BARN WERE DESTRO
02:07 UTCTSTM WND DMGVeronaOneida, NYMANY TREES DOWN. STORAGE SHED BLOWN INTO NEXT YARD... SHINGLE DAMAGE... GARAGE DOOR BOWED IN.
02:27 UTCTSTM WND DMGDeerfieldOneida, NYTREES AND POWERLINES DOWN. RADAR EST TIME.
02:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGCanastotaMadison, NYTREES AND WIRES DOWN
02:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGSchuyler CornersHerkimer, NY3 STORY BARN BLOWN ACROSS ROAD AND DAMAGED HOUSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.
02:44 UTCTSTM WND DMGPolandHerkimer, NYTREES DOWN
02:45 UTCTSTM WND DMGMiddlevilleHerkimer, NYTREES SHEARED OFF AND BLOWN INTO A FIELD. WIRES DOWN. TREES DOWN ON ROUTE 28.
03:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGLittle FallsHerkimer, NYTREES DOWN
03:20 UTCLIGHTNINGPlymouthChenango, NYLIGHTNING HIT TREE WHICH FELL THROUGH HOUSE
03:20 UTCLIGHTNINGSmyrnaChenango, NYLIGHTNING STRUCK HOUSE. SET ON FIRE. BLIVEN-COYE HILL ROAD
03:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGPlymouthChenango, NYTREE ON HOUSE WITH HEAVY DAMAGE COUNTY ROUTE 16
03:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGNorth NorwichChenango, NYTREE DOWN ON STATE ROUTE 12

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in New YorkEvery tornado in New York since 1950Warnings in force in New York nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 17, 2014

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 174:40 AM CDTEF1Green, WI6.8641$300,000
June 1711:57 AM EDTEF1Iosco, MI1.6100$140,000
June 172:27 PM MDTEF3Carter, MT10.0880
June 173:54 PM MDTEF0Garfield, MT0.115
June 174:40 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.240
June 174:40 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.440
June 175:28 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.740$60,000
June 176:00 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.740$10,000
June 177:57 PM CDTEF1Cedar, NE3.9630$10,000
June 178:09 PM CDTEF3Cedar, NE4.02,059$2.0 million
June 177:39 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.220
June 178:07 PM MDTEF0Hooker, NE1.740
June 179:10 PM CDTEF0Cedar, NE1.3100
June 179:10 PM CDTEF1Cedar, NE3.4850$25,000
June 179:28 PM CDTEF2Cedar, NE0.9200$50,000
June 179:45 PM CDTEF2Cedar, NE5.3850$250,000
June 1710:44 PM CDTEF2Minnehaha, SD3.4400$100,000
June 1710:45 PM CDTEF1Dixon, NE2.5100$20,000
June 1711:27 PM CDTEF0Lyon, IA0.350

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.