Tornadoes · United States · New York · 2023
EF1 tornado, West Lee to Glenmore, New York, August 7, 2023
From West Lee to Glenmore, this EF1 tornado ran 1.4 miles across Oneida County on August 7, 2023, touching down at 7:17 PM EDT and reaching 110 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $25,000 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 7, 2023
- Touchdown
- 7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:20 PM EDT (23:20 UTC)
- On the ground
- 3 minutes
- Path length
- 1.4 miles (2.2 km)
- Path width
- 110 yards (101 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $25,000
- County
- Oneida County
- Touchdown point
- 43.330, -75.590
- Lift-off point
- 43.350, -75.590
- Record number
- 2308071717-01
The damage survey
27 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BGM and NWS BUF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 130 mph.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
A tornado outbreak occurred across Central New York during the afternoon and evening hours. Strong shear supported multiple rotating thunderstorms. While damaging wind gusts were a hazard, tornadoes were the main concern. Multiple NWS surveys were performed over a couple of days to confirm a total of five tornadoes. Surveyed damage included downed trees and wires as well as structure damage to multiple residences. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed during these storms.
A tornado touched down on Coal Hill Road taking down some tree branches. The tornado then moved northward reaching its widest width on Grission Lane where numerous trees were uprooted and downed. It also damaged a roof. The tornado then lifted as it reached the intersection of Slater road and Coal Hill 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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:55 UTC and running to 01:41 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:55 UTC | 01:41 UTC | Tornado Watch | BGM |
| 22:15 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 22:44 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 22:48 UTC | 23:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 22:49 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 22:51 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | BGM |
| 23:03 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | BGM |
| 23:08 UTC | 23:53 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 23:27 UTC | 23:51 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM |
| 01:12 UTC | 04:15 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | BGM |
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 20:00 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 radar
The Ft Drum radar (KTYX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:19 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sw West Eaton | Madison, NY | Trees and wires down on road. Boat flipped upside down. |
| 22:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Constantia | Oswego, NY | Trees and wires down. |
| 22:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Munnsville | Madison, NY | Tree down, house damage. |
| 22:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morrisville | Madison, NY | In Pine Woods, NY. Trees and wires down. Part of metal roof ripped off. Metal sheds flipped over. Hay wagons moved. Time estimated from radar. |
| 22:55 UTC | TORNADO | Munnsville | Madison, NY | Tornado touched down on Bear Path Road and moved northeast onto Morris Road. |
| 22:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Munnsville | Madison, NY | Approximately 50 trees down, some on a house. Other sporadic trees down nearby with damage to a barn roof. |
| 22:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Williamstown | Oswego, NY | Tree down. |
| 22:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Williamstown | Oswego, NY | Tree down. |
| 22:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Williamstown | Oswego, NY | Tree down. |
| 22:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Parish | Oswego, NY | Tree down on Route 69 just east of I-81. |
| 22:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Parish | Oswego, NY | Tree down on Route 69 just east of I-81. |
| 22:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Parish | Oswego, NY | Tree down on Route 69 just east of I-81. |
| 23:10 UTC | TORNADO | Vernon | Oneida, NY | Numerous Trees downed and uprooted from College Hill Road to Seneca Turnpike. |
| 23:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Taberg | Oneida, NY | Multiple trees down. |
| 23:17 UTC | TORNADO | Taberg | Oneida, NY | A EF-1 Tornado touched down on Coal Hill road. The tornado then tracked over Grission Lane with many trees uprooted. The tornado then lifted as it reached the intersection with Slater road. |
| 23:27 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Sse North Osceola | Lewis, NY | Satellite imagery confirmed tornadic damage from August 7. Time estimated from radar. This is the start location of tornado. |
| 23:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W North Osceola | Lewis, NY | Trees on wires along North Osceola Road. |
| 23:30 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Sse North Osceola | Lewis, NY | Satellite imagery confirmed tornadic damage from August 7. Time estimated from radar. This is the end location of tornado. |
| 23:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wnw West Leyden | Lewis, NY | Multiple trees down. |
| 23:42 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wnw West Leyden | Lewis, NY | Start of tornadic damage along Mud Lake Road west of West Leyden. |
| 00:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Turin | Lewis, NY | Tree in roof. |
| 00:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Turin | Lewis, NY | Significant damage to business on State Route 26 north of Turin. Sheriffs Department is on scene. |
| 00:14 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nnw Turin | Lewis, NY | End of tornadic damage on the north side of Turin. |
| 02:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 1 Nne Lakeland | Onondaga, NY | Portion of I-690 closed due to water on highway. |
| 02:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Cicero | Onondaga, NY | Water on roads, some drivers rescued after getting stranded in flooded roads. |
| 02:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | Liverpool | Onondaga, NY | Water on roads, some drivers rescued after getting stranded in flooded roads. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 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 7, 2023
19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 7 | 2:17 PM EDT | EF2 | Knox, TN | 3.7 | 200 | $3.7 million | ||
| August 7 | 2:48 PM EDT | EF1 | Yancey, NC | 6.2 | 50 | |||
| August 7 | 2:00 PM CDT | EF1 | Lawrence, KY to WV | 6.3 | 400 | $23,000 | ||
| August 7 | 4:40 PM EDT | EF1 | Catawba, NC | 36.2 | 550 | $100,000 | ||
| August 7 | 5:02 PM EDT | EF1 | York, PA | 0.5 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| August 7 | 5:07 PM EDT | EF0 | Mecklenburg, NC | 2.0 | 50 | $20,000 | ||
| August 7 | 5:13 PM EDT | EF0 | Tompkins, NY | 1.4 | 200 | $5,000 | ||
| August 7 | 5:17 PM EDT | EF1 | Cortland, NY | 9.7 | 200 | $15,000 | ||
| August 7 | 5:24 PM EDT | EF1 | York, PA | 1.5 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| August 7 | 4:35 PM CDT | Unrated | Cheyenne, KS | 0.2 | 75 | |||
| August 7 | 5:40 PM EDT | EF0 | Lancaster, PA | 0.5 | 40 | |||
| August 7 | 6:25 PM EDT | EF1 | Susquehanna, PA | 1.4 | 200 | $5,000 | ||
| August 7 | 6:29 PM EDT | EF1 | Broome, NY | 2.0 | 200 | $15,000 | ||
| August 7 | 6:55 PM EDT | EF0 | Madison, NY | 1.5 | 175 | $10,000 | ||
| August 7 | 7:10 PM EDT | EF1 | Oneida, NY | 1.3 | 200 | $10,000 | ||
| August 7 | 7:21 PM EDT | EF1 | Lehigh, PA | 0.3 | 160 | |||
| August 7 | 7:27 PM EDT | Unrated | Lewis, NY | 0.8 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| August 7 | 7:37 PM EDT | EF0 | Hunterdon, NJ | 0.5 | 150 | |||
| August 7 | 7:42 PM EDT | EF3 | Lewis, NY | 16.0 | 700 | $1.5 million |
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.