Thunderstorm Wind — Tompkins, New York

2023-07-24 · near Krum Corner, Tompkins, New York

Event narrative

A thunderstorm that moved through Tompkins County on the evening

of Monday, July 24th has been determined to have produced a

microburst that destroyed two barns, uprooted trees, and caused a

divergent path of downed trees in the direction of eastward storm

motion. The epicenter of the microburst was most likely at the

intersection of Hayts Road and Sheffield Road in Enfield, NY, where

two barns were lifted off the foundation, mostly destroyed and

displaced northwestward. Progressing eastward on Hayts Road,

uprooted trees and multiple downed trees in the eastward direction

were observed. These damage indicators began to have diverging

directions both northeast- and southeast-ward, indicating the

spread of a wind pool from a microburst.

Wider weather episode

Multiple rounds of thunderstorms moved through Central New York throughout daytime hours. Many storms became severe with strong wind gusts being the main hazard. Two NWS surveys confirmed strong microbursts. Both microbursts resulted in widespread damage that included damage to structures. Unfortunately on this day, three roofers were struck by lightning after taking shelter under a tree while waiting for a storm to pass. One of them succumbed to their injuries a few days after the incident.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.4670, -76.5750)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1113319. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.