NWS confirms two tornadoes struck near Syracuse Thursday evening

Two tornadoes were confirmed from Thursday’s severe storms, including an EF-1 near Rock Stream in Yates County and an EF-0 west-southwest of Cortland in Cortland County. For Syracuse and Onondaga County, the National Weather Service office in Binghamton, which covers 17 New York counties and 7 Pennsylvania counties, is still using storm surveys to sort tornado damage from straight-line wind across Central New York.

The survey work matters because the weather service says the pattern of damage, not just the amount of destruction, determines whether a storm was tornadic. In Cortland County, crews found an EF-0 with estimated peak winds of 80 mph, a 1.89-mile path and a maximum width of 200 yards; in Yates County, the Rock Stream tornado was rated EF-1 with estimated peak winds of 90 mph, a 1.21-mile path and a 150-yard width. The agency says final survey results can spell out the rating, wind speed, path length and path width once the review is complete.

Residents across Central New York had warning time before the storms hit. On Thursday, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Cayuga, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Seneca counties until 11:30 a.m., and a tornado watch remained in effect for parts of the region as the storms moved east. The safest response to a tornado warning is still the same: get to a basement if there is one, or move to an interior room on the lowest floor and stay away from windows.

By Friday, survey crews in Cortland County had spent hours documenting downed trees, blocked roads, damaged roofs and fallen power lines, the kind of evidence that helps forecasters distinguish a tornado track from other wind damage. That review comes during the June-through-August peak of severe weather season, and the Binghamton archive already includes the deadly Clark Mills EF-1 tornado of June 22, 2025, plus tornado and damaging-wind events in Onondaga County on July 8, 2014. Onondaga County’s weekend forecast offered only a brief pause, with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, mostly sunny skies Sunday and another round of showers and thunderstorms Monday. Homeowners with damage should photograph losses, keep receipts and contact insurers promptly so repair records are in place before the next storm arrives.