EF2 tornado in Oneida County, New York

Severe thunderstorms carried through the area with scattered damage during mid afternoon of July 16 2024. Strong rotation in one of the storms caused a high-end EF2 tornado to touch down between the Erie Canal and Muck Road in Oneida County New York. The tornado passed directly through Rome with heavy damage and estimated maximum wind speeds to 135 mph, before lifting just past Griffiss International Airport. Two churches sustained significant damage to their roofs and steeples. Two

large brick buildings sustained major damage or removal of roofs, with complete collapses of some walls. Cascading bricks next to these buildings crushed multiple vehicles. A vehicle was also flipped in a parking lot, one recreational vehicle was pushed over; another was forced from the side of a house out into a driveway, colliding with a parked car. Hundreds of large trees were snapped or uprooted, with resultant damage to adjoining properties. There was significant loss of roofs or roofing material from multiple residences, as well as blown out garage doors or windows. Some yards and even exterior walls were impaled by missiles in the form of branches or other objects. A B-52 on display near a park was shifted off its base but remained upright and undamaged.

An upper-level wave moved through the Great Lakes region and brought numerous storms to Central New York, making it one of the more active days in July. Strong instability and shear lead to a severe weather outbreak across the region. A few storms became tornadic. The most notable tornado was a high end EF-2 that went through Rome, NY and led to significant damage. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred with this storm. However, there was one fatality in Canastota when a man was trying to protect his old car while a storm with an EF-1 tornado was passing through. Multiple other storms had damaging wind gusts that lead to widespread damage across the region.