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.

  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 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)ExpiredProductOffice
21:55 UTC01:41 UTCTornado WatchBGM
22:15 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
22:44 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
22:48 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
22:49 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
22:51 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningBGM
23:03 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningBGM
23:08 UTC23:53 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
23:27 UTC23:51 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGM
01:12 UTC04:15 UTCFlash Flood 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 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
22:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Sw West EatonMadison, NYTrees and wires down on road. Boat flipped upside down.
22:48 UTCTSTM WND DMGConstantiaOswego, NYTrees and wires down.
22:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S MunnsvilleMadison, NYTree down, house damage.
22:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGMorrisvilleMadison, NYIn 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 UTCTORNADOMunnsvilleMadison, NYTornado touched down on Bear Path Road and moved northeast onto Morris Road.
22:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGMunnsvilleMadison, NYApproximately 50 trees down, some on a house. Other sporadic trees down nearby with damage to a barn roof.
22:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGWilliamstownOswego, NYTree down.
22:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGWilliamstownOswego, NYTree down.
22:56 UTCTSTM WND DMGWilliamstownOswego, NYTree down.
22:59 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E ParishOswego, NYTree down on Route 69 just east of I-81.
22:59 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E ParishOswego, NYTree down on Route 69 just east of I-81.
22:59 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 E ParishOswego, NYTree down on Route 69 just east of I-81.
23:10 UTCTORNADOVernonOneida, NYNumerous Trees downed and uprooted from College Hill Road to Seneca Turnpike.
23:12 UTCTSTM WND DMGTabergOneida, NYMultiple trees down.
23:17 UTCTORNADOTabergOneida, NYA 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 UTCTORNADO2 Sse North OsceolaLewis, NYSatellite imagery confirmed tornadic damage from August 7. Time estimated from radar. This is the start location of tornado.
23:28 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W North OsceolaLewis, NYTrees on wires along North Osceola Road.
23:30 UTCTORNADO2 Sse North OsceolaLewis, NYSatellite imagery confirmed tornadic damage from August 7. Time estimated from radar. This is the end location of tornado.
23:38 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wnw West LeydenLewis, NYMultiple trees down.
23:42 UTCTORNADO2 Wnw West LeydenLewis, NYStart of tornadic damage along Mud Lake Road west of West Leyden.
00:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw TurinLewis, NYTree in roof.
00:12 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw TurinLewis, NYSignificant damage to business on State Route 26 north of Turin. Sheriffs Department is on scene.
00:14 UTCTORNADO1 Nnw TurinLewis, NYEnd of tornadic damage on the north side of Turin.
02:00 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Nne LakelandOnondaga, NYPortion of I-690 closed due to water on highway.
02:00 UTCFLASH FLOODCiceroOnondaga, NYWater on roads, some drivers rescued after getting stranded in flooded roads.
02:00 UTCFLASH FLOODLiverpoolOnondaga, NYWater 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 72:17 PM EDTEF2Knox, TN3.7200$3.7 million
August 72:48 PM EDTEF1Yancey, NC6.250
August 72:00 PM CDTEF1Lawrence, KY to WV6.3400$23,000
August 74:40 PM EDTEF1Catawba, NC36.2550$100,000
August 75:02 PM EDTEF1York, PA0.575$25,000
August 75:07 PM EDTEF0Mecklenburg, NC2.050$20,000
August 75:13 PM EDTEF0Tompkins, NY1.4200$5,000
August 75:17 PM EDTEF1Cortland, NY9.7200$15,000
August 75:24 PM EDTEF1York, PA1.550$10,000
August 74:35 PM CDTUnratedCheyenne, KS0.275
August 75:40 PM EDTEF0Lancaster, PA0.540
August 76:25 PM EDTEF1Susquehanna, PA1.4200$5,000
August 76:29 PM EDTEF1Broome, NY2.0200$15,000
August 76:55 PM EDTEF0Madison, NY1.5175$10,000
August 77:10 PM EDTEF1Oneida, NY1.3200$10,000
August 77:21 PM EDTEF1Lehigh, PA0.3160
August 77:27 PM EDTUnratedLewis, NY0.8100$5,000
August 77:37 PM EDTEF0Hunterdon, NJ0.5150
August 77:42 PM EDTEF3Lewis, NY16.0700$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.