New York state sees year’s-worth of tornadoes during July thanks to Hurricane Beryl

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Very busy July for tornadoes in New York has state outpacing parts of Tornado Alley

Between the remnants of Hurricane Beryl and the recent severe weather, New York has set two of its top six days for most Tornado Warnings in a day and has more tornadoes in July than places like Oklahoma and Iowa.

A state known for its status as the headquarters of global finance, media and apple production is now making headlines for another reason: tornadoes, at least for the month of July. 

The combination of a frontal boundary and the remnants of Hurricane Beryl helped spawn at least nine tornadoes across New York, surpassing the state’s average annual tally.

According to statistics from the Storm Prediction Center, New York typically experiences only eight tornadoes on average each year.

However, due to these unusual tropical influences, what was expected to be a quiet year for tornadic activity quickly became active.

Most of the tornadoes swept through Western New York, causing extensive damage to dozens of buildings.

Tornado tally map

(FOX Weather)

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The reports were far below counts taken in states such as Louisiana and Texas, which saw 25 and 18 tornadoes, respectively.

Landfalling Gulf Coast hurricanes are notorious for producing historical outbreaks due to their interaction with continental air masses and shear that can be present.

According to NOAA statistics, four out of the top five hurricanes that produced the most tornadoes were landfalling Gulf Coast storms.

Final tallies from Hurricane Beryl will likely take several weeks to complete, but the cyclone is on track to finish in the top ten for its tornado production.

Seeing a regional outbreak of tornadoes from the remnants of a tropical system or a cold front is not unusual in the Empire State. A storm system in August 2023 produced eight twisters, and a November 2021 system produced at least seven.

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July’s figures so far do not include any tornadoes that formed during the severe weather outbreak that happened about a week after Beryl’s remnants moved through.

So far, National Weather Service survey teams report finding damage consistent with an EF-2 tornado that tore through the town of Rome, New York, but still have several communities to survey.

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Rome, New York devastated by likely tornado

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the storm damages in the historic town of Rome are the worst in the city's history. FOX Weather Correspondent Nicole Valdes reports on the damages and the recovery efforts in New York. 

At least one person was killed during the storms and hundreds of thousands of residents lost power.

Sen. Chuck Schumer likened the scenes to those from the movie "Twister" and called upon FEMA to be prepared if damage warrants a federal disaster declaration.

Most tornadoes that are produced in the state are on the lower end of the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Tornadoes in the EF-0 to EF-2 range are common, but the state is one of 31 that has never experienced an EF-5 tornado, which were formerly known as an F-5.

An EF-5 tornado is capable of producing catastrophic damage and can level even well-built buildings.