1989 Northeastern United States tornado outbreak
Damage to trees in Hamden, Connecticut
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| Type | Tornado outbreak |
|---|---|
| Duration | July 10, 1989 |
| Tornadoes confirmed | 17 confirmed |
| Max rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Duration of tornado outbreak2 | ~14 hours |
| Highest winds |
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| Largest hail | 2.5 in (6.4 cm) |
| Damage | >$130 million 1989 USD ($214 million 2006 USD) |
| Casualties | 1 fatality (non-tornado related), 150+ tornadic injuries |
| Areas affected | Northeastern United States |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale 2Time from first tornado to last tornado |
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1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
The 1989 Northeastern United States tornado outbreak was a series of tornadoes which caused more than $130 million (1989 USD) in damage across the Northeastern United States on July 10, 1989. The storm system affected five states with severe weather, including hail up to 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) across, thunderstorm winds up to 90 mph (140 km/h), and 17 tornadoes. Several towns in New York and Connecticut were particularly hard-hit. Several homes were leveled in Schoharie, New York and extensive damage occurred in Bantam, Connecticut. A large section of Hamden, Connecticut, including an industrial park and hundreds of homes, was destroyed; and in some places buildings were flattened to the ground.
More than 150 people were injured by the tornado outbreak, and one person was killed by straight-line thunderstorm winds. While tornado outbreaks in this area are unusual, this storm was especially rare in that it produced six significant tornadoes, two of which were violent F4s, and featured many tornadoes with tracks of several miles.
Storms began causing damage early in the morning on July 10, 1989. A tornado briefly touched down in Ogdensburg, New York at 5AM, injuring one person. Hail up to 1 in (25 mm) wide, wind gusts over 50 mph (60 km/h), and many reports of wind damage were reported in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts before noon.Severe weather is an unusual occurrence in the morning, and the activity only increased in severity towards the middle of the afternoon.
The event which devastated areas from Montgomery to Greene County caused $20,000,000 in damage and injured 20 people. While the Storm Prediction Center archives say that it was a single tornado, it was likely three or more tornadoes, each producing F3 to F4 damage. Only damage near Schoharie was at the F4 level, and some sources doubt it even reached that intensity at all.
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