EF1 tornado in Yates County, New York

An EF1 Tornado hit Rock Stream, NY, crossed Seneca Lake and hit a

lakeshore residence south of Hector, NY during the late morning

hours of June 18, 2026. Though there were pockets of minor tree

damage from the storm itself, tornadic damage started around Reading

Road at 1045 AM. This tornado strengthened to as much as 90 mph from

Old Lake Road to State Route 14, as rotation tightened with the

storm quickly moving at 50 mph from higher elevations into the

Seneca Lake basin. Numerous trees were uprooted in a convergent

chaotic fashion, and around 40 vineyard posts were snapped. Twigs

and branches were impaled into the ground as missiles in portions of

the vineyard, and shingles were found more than a quarter mile from

their source. A garage outbuilding collapsed, with some metal roof

peelback and siding damage also noted on the residence with small

branches squeezing into gaps. After crossing State Route 14 with a

continued corridor of uprooted trees, the tornado crossed Seneca

Lake around 1050 AM. Significant damage was observed near the lake

at the end of Wickham Rd. A large tree branch was impaled into a

house and several trees and numerous large branches were downed.

A highly anomalous low pressure system tracked north and east of the region, producing a tight pressure gradient and strong winds. A cold front moved through around midday, bringing showers and thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts. The highly sheared and modestly yet adequately unstable environment also produced EF0 and EF1 tornadoes across Central NY, although damaging winds remained the primary hazard.