EF0 Tornado — Cortland, New York

2024-07-15 · near Virgil, Cortland, New York

Event narrative

A small tornado touched down near Daisy Hollow Road in Virgil, NY with mostly tree damage. A few homes sustained minor damage to their roofs. The tornado tracked east northeast along Babcock Hollow Road. The tornado passed near Greek Peak Resort and lifted near Route 11 just south of Cortlandville. It is unclear if the tornado was on the ground the entire path as there were a couple of inaccessible unsurveyed hills. Drone footage from NY Office of Emergency Management showed a cyclonic flow pattern in some trees along Route 11 right before it lifted.

Wider weather episode

A mesoscale convective system (MCS) and an upper-level wave moved through the region triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. These features moved into a high instability environment with sufficient shear in place and plenty of moisture, resulting in a ripe environment for a severe weather outbreak. Damaging wind gusts were the main concern though some storms also had tornadoes. Widespread tree and wire damage occurred across Central New York with two microbursts and two tornadoes surveyed making it one of the most active days of the month.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.4850, -76.2300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1197834. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.