Thunderstorm Wind — Cayuga, New York

1998-09-07 · near Montezuma, Cayuga, New York

Event narrative

The derecho which inflicted wind damage upstream to the northwest, including Seneca county, ripped across northern and central parts of Cayuga county between 100 and 130 am EDT. Much wind damage resulted. Most of the damage was in the form of downed trees and power lines, but there was a concentrated area of structural damage from Port Byron southwestward to Montezuma. The line of severe thunderstorms first entered the county around 100 am EDT and affected an area from Montezuma to Throop to Port Byron between 100 and 110 am. It was in this region that the greatest damage occurred in the county. In the town of Port Byron, a 150 year old Presbyterian Church was nearly leveled by the ferocity of the wind. Portions of its steeple and bell tower were blown several hundred yards and actually caused some damage to adjacent structures. In Montezuma and Throop, many trees and utility poles were uprooted, with several landing on nearby cars and homes. Dozens of homes in this area sustained siding and/or roof damage. In the city of Auburn, the storm came through around 115 am EDT and felled numerous trees and power lines. On the north side of town, damage to homes was more pronounced with roofs torn off of several buidings, including a department store. A few minor injuries were caused by flying debris in this section of town. The storms exited the county shortly before 125 am EDT with more tree damage in the town of Owasco. Ten vacation homes in the Highland Beach area on the eastern side of Owasco Lake took on minor damage in the form of blown out windows, ripped off shingles, and damaged aluminum siding. Damage estimates were close to 20 million dollars for the county. Portions of Port Byron and Auburn in the hardest hit areas were without electrical power for close to 3 days. Cayuga county eventually qualified to receive federal disaster relief money.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.0200, -76.7200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5666477. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.