Tornadoes · United States · New York · 2021

EF1 tornado, Pt Rock to West Branch, New York, June 3, 2021

From Pt Rock to West Branch, this EF1 tornado ran 1.2 miles across Oneida County on June 3, 2021, touching down at 3:26 PM EDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $55,000 of property damage.

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 3, 2021
Touchdown
3:26 PM EDT (19:26 UTC)
Lifted
3:29 PM EDT (19:29 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
1.2 miles (1.9 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$55,000
County
Oneida County
Touchdown point
43.354, -75.535
Lift-off point
43.357, -75.511
Record number
2106031326-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A cold front passed through Central New York which triggered isolated thunderstorms, some of which became severe. One storm produced a tornado that took the roof off of a barn and moved the barn off of its foundation. The tornado also knocked down several trees as it passed through a yard and into a state forest.

A tornado touched down near a barn off of Sulphur Springs Road. The tornado tore down several trees in multiple directions along a visible path. Then it lifted off the roof of the barn with the structure collapsing on itself. Additional damage included the barn shifting off of it's foundation. Trees were also snapped high up. The tornado proceeded through West Branch State Forest with intermediate damage before lifting as it reached Harris Road.

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.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:17 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:38 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), 12:00Z

7.4 hours before the tornado, 156 km from the path. June 3, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 2021-06-03Temperature 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 -87370, lifted condensation level 1128 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 2021-06-03The 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 164 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 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
-87370 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1128 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Albany, NY (KALY), 00:00Z

4.6 hours after it, 156 km from the path. June 4, 2021.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 2021-06-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 174 joules per kilogram, CIN -41, lifted condensation level 845 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 2021-06-04The 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 204 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 51 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
174 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-41 J/kg
Surface CAPE
226 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
845 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
204 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
218 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.8
0-3 km lapse rate
6.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Griffiss AFB / Rome (RME), 18 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
17:30 UTC210° 8 kt1012.9
17:35 UTC200° 11 kt1012.9
17:40 UTC200° 9 kt1012.5
17:45 UTC200° 10 kt1012.5
17:50 UTC210° 11 kt1012.5
17:53 UTC7261200° 8 kt171012.5
17:55 UTC190° 8 kt1012.5
18:00 UTC200° 7 kt1012.5
18:05 UTC200° 5 kt1012.5-RA
18:10 UTC200° 5 kt1012.5-RA
18:15 UTC190° 5 kt1012.2
18:20 UTC190° 7 kt1012.5
18:25 UTC190° 8 kt1012.2
18:30 UTC190° 10 kt1012.2RA
18:35 UTC200° 9 kt1012.2-RA
18:40 UTC210° 7 kt1012.2-RA
18:45 UTC200° 5 kt1012.2-RA
18:50 UTC190° 10 kt161012.2-RA
18:53 UTC6964200° 9 kt171012.2-RA
19:00 UTC210° 5 kt1012.2-RA
19:05 UTC220° 4 kt1011.9
19:10 UTC220° 4 kt1011.9
19:15 UTC210° 2 kt1011.5
19:20 UTC180° 4 kt1011.5
19:25 UTC170° 4 kt1011.5
19:30 UTC160° 4 kt1011.2
19:35 UTC170° 5 kt1011.2
19:40 UTC170° 4 kt1011.2
19:45 UTC190° 7 kt1011.2
19:50 UTC190° 7 kt1010.8
19:53 UTC7364190° 8 kt1011.2
20:00 UTC200° 9 kt1010.8
20:05 UTC210° 10 kt1010.8
20:10 UTC 11 kt1010.8
20:15 UTC 13 kt1011.2
20:20 UTC320° 11 kt1011.2
20:25 UTC320° 10 kt1011.5
20:30 UTC320° 10 kt1011.2
20:35 UTC320° 11 kt1011.5
20:40 UTC320° 7 kt1011.5
20:45 UTC330° 8 kt1011.5
20:50 UTC330° 7 kt1011.2
20:53 UTC6963340° 7 kt1011.2
20:55 UTC330° 5 kt1011.2RA
21:00 UTC330° 7 kt1011.2+RA
21:05 UTC340° 7 kt1011.2-RA
21:10 UTC340° 7 kt1011.2-RA
21:15 UTC320° 5 kt1011.2-RA
21:20 UTC300° 5 kt1011.5+RA
21:25 UTC6864300° 3 kt1011.5+RA BR
21:25 UTC300° 2 kt1011.5+RA BR

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

The radar

The Ft Drum radar (KTYX), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:24 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
19:26 UTCTORNADO2 Sse Point RockOneida, NYAN EF-1 TORNADO WITH MAX WINDS OF 95 MPH STRUCK A BARN OFF OF SULPHUR SPRINGS ROAD AND MOVED INTO WEST BRANCH STATE FOREST BEFORE LIFTING ALONG HARRIS ROAD.
19:32 UTCTSTM WND DMGLee CenterOneida, NYCORRECTS PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM 2 ENE LEE. TWITTER PHOTOS OF A BARN DESTROYED AND A LARGE TREE SNAPPED WEST OF ROUTE 26 IN LEE CENTER. LOCATION AND TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR, BUT EXACT LOCATION AND TIME IS UNK
19:43 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene LeeOneida, NYTWITTER PHOTOS OF A BARN DESTROYED AND A LARGE TREE SNAPPED WEST OF ROUTE 26 IN LEE CENTER. LOCATION AND TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR, BUT EXACT LOCATION AND TIME IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 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 3, 2021

2 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 34:51 PM EDTEF1Baltimore, MD2.2120$250,000
June 37:45 PM EDTEF1Marion, SC1.270$150,000

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.