High Wind — Orange, New York

2003-11-13 · Orange, New York

Wider weather episode

As a rapidly intensifying low pressure system moved northeast, its' associated strong cold front swept east of the area between 4 am and 7 am. With high pressure building east behind this front, strong and gusty west winds occurred. The highest winds occurred behind this front, mainly during the morning and early afternoon. After a brief "lull," west winds peaked once again during Thursday evening, November 13th. High winds downed numerous trees and power lines, which resulted in widespread power outages throughout the area. Thousands of power outages were confirmed by local utility companies.Here are selected high wind measurements and damage reports from across the region.In Orange County, "Montgomery police said a 46-year-old Newburgh man was killed after being blown off the roof of a makeshift, canvas-covered garage he was working on about 1:30 pm." Police stated that he fell 20 feet to the ground and suffered massive head trauma. Schools in Goshen, along with the Orange County Government Center and 400 nearby homes and businesses were without power for 2 hours, after a falling tree severed power lines on Scotchtown Road. At Montgomery Airport, the highest sustained wind speed was 48 MPH and the highest gust was 58 MPH, which occurred at 1:01 pm.In Bergen County, high winds downed trees onto power lines, which resulted in a partial closure of Rosalie and Hopper Roads at 7:20 am. Spotters also reported numerous trees and power lines downed, which resulted in partial road closures in North Arlington. At Teterboro Airport, the highest sustained wind speed was 37 MPH at 7:41 am and the highest wind gust was 47 MPH at 1:31 pm.In Rockland County, a spotter's wind system in Pomona measured a wind gust to 56 MPH at 9:50 pm.In Westchester County, the highest sustained wind speed at Westchester County Airport was 38 MPH at 9:56 pm and the highest gust was 53 MPH at 9:26 pm. Emergency managers reported numerous trees and wires down, mainly after 4:00 pm in these Northern Westchester County communities: Bedford, Golden's Bridge, Pound Ridge, and Lewis. The NY State Electric and Gas Corporation reported 5000 customers without power in these areas. In Southern Westchester County, Con Edison reported about 2500 outages in Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mt. Vernon, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, and Ossining. There were reports of trees down on houses in Scarsdale, Hastings-on-Hudson, and Mount Pleasant.In the Bronx, the broadcast media reported downed trees and power lines. The wind system at the Bronx HS of Science measured a wind gust to 52 MPH.In Manhattan, the broadcast media reported fallen construction debris and fallen scaffolding. At Central Park, the highest sustained wind speed was 32 MPH at 9:08 pm and the highest gust was 47 MPH at 9:07 pm.In Staten Island, the broadcast media reported downed trees and power lines.In Brooklyn, the broadcast media reported downed tree limbs. The highest wind gusts measured by School Weathernet Stations ranged from 58 MPH at Saint Edmund Prep H.S. to 66 MPH at New Ultrecht High School.In Queens, the highest sustained winds at LaGuardia Airport was 47 MPH and the highest gust was 62 MPH, which occurred at 8:40 pm. At John F. Kennedy Airport, the highest sustained wind was 49 MPH at 12:32 pm and the highest gust was 56 MPH at 12:31 pm. Spotters reported that a 50 foot tree was blown down on Thornhill Road in Douglaston and a tree was downed on Hill Side Ave. and 243rd Street in Queens Village.In Nassau County, a spotter reported at least 5 trees downed in Garden City. At Farmingdale Airport, the highest sustained wind speed was 39 MPH at 10:42 am and the highest gust was 52 MPH at 8:18 am.In Suffolk County, the Shinnecock Inlet wind system measured a wind gust to 64 MPH at 11:40 am. A wind gust to 58 MPH was measured at Smiths Point at 9:50 am. At Islip Airport, the highest sustained wind speed was 41 MPH at 10:38 am and the highest gust was 51 MPH at 10:37 am. At the Westhampton Beach Airport, the highest sustained wind speed was 40 MPH at 11:15 am and the highest gust was 49 MPH at 8:32 am.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5331437. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.