High Wind — Northern St. Lawrence, New York

2021-12-11 · Northern St. Lawrence, New York

Event narrative

Numerous tree branches and trees down that fell on utility lines, roads and small structures across St. Lawrence county. Numerous wind gusts in excess of 50-55 mph with a measured 67 mph in Potsdam, 64 mph in Massena.

Wider weather episode

A powerful storm system across the Great Lakes on the afternoon of December 11th moved northeast across Ontario and Quebec provinces in Canada during the night. A very powerful jet structure with winds in excess of 100 knots at 5000 feet moved across the eastern Great Lakes and northern NY.

The associated cold front was the demarcation line of mixing these strong winds to the surface. These strong and damaging winds in excess of 50-70 mph entered the region during the early evening and gradually decreased into the 30-40 mph range after midnight. Estimated power outages across this region was 15-20,000 customers with a few snapped utility poles in addition to numerous trees down blocking several roads and/or landing on small structures.

Some of the top wind gusts by ASOS or NYS mesonet included; 73 mph in Malone (Franklin county), 68 mph in Hammond, 67 mph in Potsdam, 64 mph Massena (St. Lawrence county), 65 mph in Ellenburg (Clinton county), 63 mph Gabriels (Franklin county.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 988479. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.