 Map of the Labor Day Derechos (courtesy of NOAA). | |
| Date(s) | September 7, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 6-12 |
| Peak wind gust (measured) | 89 mph (143 km/h; 39.8 m/s) (Greater Rochester International Airport) |
| Tornado count | 4 (Lynbrook, New York) |
| Strongest tornado1 | F2 tornado |
| Fatalities | 7 (80 injured) |
| Damage costs | >$131 million |
| Areas affected | Northeast United States |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; seeFujita scale | |
TheNew York State Labor Day derechos were twoderecho events that occurred onLabor Day, September 7, 1998. One derecho moved through northern and centralNew York state, and the other would start in southeasternMichigan and move through northeasternOhio,Pennsylvania,New Jersey, andLong Island. A spokesman for the New York State Emergency Management Office, estimated that 300,000 residences had lost electricity, 7 people died and 80 were injured.[1]
The northernmost derecho (dubbed the Syracuse Labor Day Derecho and referred to locally as the Labor Day Storm), got its start in northwesternNew York just before midnight on September 7 after several thunderstorm cells coming fromOntario converged to become abow echo. It quickly moved southeastward throughNew York.[2]
Some of the worst damage occurred atRochester,Syracuse, andUtica. Three people were killed, two of them at theNew York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.[2] GovernorGeorge Pataki declared nine counties in that region to be in astate of emergency, which meant that the state would provide financial and other resources to those counties if help was requested.[1]
An 89 miles per hour (143 km/h) wind gust was recorded at theGreater Rochester International Airport and a 77 miles per hour (124 km/h) gust was recorded atSyracuse Hancock International Airport.[2][3] Winds peaked at an estimated 115 mph (185 km/h) by radars.
Tens of thousands of trees were blown down. Embedded within this derecho was asupercell thunderstorm, which produced an extensive damage path from the Syracuse area, through the northern suburbs ofAlbany, and into westernVermont.Lightning with this particular storm was reported by many in its path as extreme, creating twilight conditions in Rochester, and daylight conditions on its rampage down theMohawk Valley. The constant lightning was striking as many as 10–20 times per second. Damage was estimated at $130 million.[2]
Many in the region were without electricity for over a week. Many people had to go to temporary shelters because of damage to their homes. The St. Lucy Catholic church on the west side of Syracuse had one of their steeples ripped off the building.[1]
As the Syracuse Derecho moved intoNew England, a new derecho started developing in southeasternMichigan at around 4 A.M. EDT and followed a track just to the south of the first one. The derecho raced through northeastern Ohio and Pennsylvania, New Jersey and ended up in New York in the mid-afternoon hours.[2]
Four people were killed and 62 were injured, mainly in theNew Jersey and theNew York City area, but damage also extended east toLong Island and Southwestern Connecticut.[2] Damage was particularly heavy inUnion County, where the towns ofPlainfield,Cranford,Clark andRahway declared a state of emergency, imposed overnight curfews and postponed the opening day of school.[1] Four smalltornadoes were spawned by this storm, including anF2 tornado inLynbrook, New York, that caused 6 injuries and $1 million in damage.[4]
Officials said that some 19,500 customers in the city andWestchester County were without power, roughly 71,500 on Long Island, 77,000 in New Jersey, and 10,000 in southern Connecticut.[2] Thousands of trees were blown down and about 100 boats were overturned. A six-person air-sea rescue team from the Police Department's Aviation Unit, based atFloyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn had to respond to numerous emergency calls.[1]