Stormy Conditions

Written by Kate Ieronimo

As seen in the news, tornadoes have swept through the southern part of the United States, where most of the damage was done in Alabama and Georgia. However, there were a series of small tornadoes that had swept through the Capital Region. Most of the area received thunderstorms and heavy rain during the morning hours, and severe weather warnings had taken effect.

     Early this morning, there were a series of heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. There were small episodes of thunder and lightning, but nothing too severe. There were severe thunderstorm and flood watches and warnings that had taken effect this morning. The flood warnings were due to the heavy rainfall that was produced along with the thunderstorm. Severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect later into the afternoon for Greene, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties, according to the National Weather Service. In one of the storms, lightning struck a church tower in Greene county, causing a fire. There were also reported small tornadoes near Utica. This may be the first severe thunderstorm event this season, in separation of the small thunderstorms that occurred a few days prior.

     Before the storm hit, the weather was very warm for this time of year, where some temperatures reached 80 degrees. It was also on the humid side. Thunderstorms usually occur after the weather has been very warm, were thunderstorms have cooler air masses push the warm air mass, making the temperatures cooler. It is also not that common for tornadoes to occur in New York State, even thought they had occurred in the past. In this state, small tornadoes occur, but there had been some large ones. On May 31, 1998, a severe tornado swept through Mechanicville, NY causing devastating damage. Many homes and property was destroyed, but luckily there were no fatalities. Unfortunately, people did, however, lose power for the next few days and some people were left homeless as a result of their home as a total loss. Storms in the area can be quite severe, but is almost rarely as severe as this storm that can cause devastating damage.