Summary of Tornadoes Surveys for the Summer of 2006

Survey on July 24, 2006

Small Tornado Confirmed in Luzerne County PA

On Saturday July 22, a tornado touched down on the northwest side of Dallas PA in Luzerne County at around 12:15 PM EDT. A team from the National Weather Service Binghamton Forecast Office surveyed the damage and confirmed that the damage was produced by a tornado. The team estimated the tornado to be at the high end of an F-0 on the Fujita Damage Scale with winds up to 70 mph.

Damage was largely to trees which were uprooted and snapped. Maybe as many as one hundred trees were damaged. There was minor wind damage to homes such as flashing and siding being peeled, some shingle damage to roofs, and damage to sheds. The hardest hit areas were the neighborhoods of College Manor and Elmcrest. A construction trailer was blown over and destroyed along Route 415. Additional damage to property including a boat, cars and fencing that was caused by falling trees. Pipes blowing from a construction site on route 415 damaged a nearby business.

The pattern of damage was clearly convergent. The damage path was about 1.5 miles long and averaged width of about 75 yards.

Survey on July 30, 2006

Small Tornado Confirmed in Western Onondaga County NY

On Saturday July 29, a tornado touched down in the village of Marcellus New York at around 4 PM EDT. A representative from the National Weather Service Binghamton Forecast Office surveyed the area, and observed damage that was consistent with a weak tornado. It was estimated that the tornado was an F-0 on the Fujita Damage Scale with winds up to 70 mph.

Damage was largely to trees which were uprooted and snapped. A portion of a tin roof on a residence was pulled off the building and flipped to the other side. A definitive, convergent damage path was noted on the east side of the village in the Orchard Street and Kinderwood Road areas with scattered damage heading southeast out of town.

The estimated width of the tornado was about 75 yards. On Saturday afternoon, an eyewitness observed a tornado pass just to the east of Marcellus Park, and then track approximately 3 miles to the southeast before going out of view. Additional storm damage was noted in the vicinity of South Onondaga, where utility crews were repairing power lines and poles on nichols road and hutchings road.

Survey on August 1, 2006

Small Tornado Confirmed in Oneida County NY

On Saturday July 29, a weak tornado touched down about 4 miles north of Utica at 3:30 PM EDT. The tornado snapped or uprooted several trees in a field near Morris Road in Marcy Township. Estimated wind speeds with this F-0 on the Fujita Damage Scale, were about 60 mph.

The damage pattern associated with this tornado indicated a rotational wind pattern, as the majority of trees fell with a northwesterly wind, however a few of the trees fell with a westerly or southeasterly wind. A nearby witness described strong, swirling winds, with rain falling into her house through her window on one side of her house during the onset of the storm, and through a window on the other side of her house toward the end of the storm. The width of the tornado is estimated at 50 yards, and the length is estimated at 200 yards.

Additional Information

Severe Weather Climatology