Generally, tornadoes aren't a common occurrence in New York state. Lately in Central New York and Upstate, they feel common, but overall, they really aren't that common.

Tornados do still happen. With that, we have seen a few major tornadoes in New York since the 1970s. New York state has been pretty lucky on the fact that it has never seen an EF5 tornado. An EF5 is the strongest and most violent tornadoes, with wind speeds greater than 200 miles per hour. New York has seen a few F4 tornadoes, however.

***You'll notice we went from using the EF scale to the F scale for these tornado ratings. This is because of the year the F4 tornadoes hit New York. The EF Scale was introduced in 2007 and changed the wind speed and damage associated with tornadoes. According to the original F Scale, an F4 tornado had wind speeds between 207 and 260 miles per hour. On the new EF Scale, an EF4 tornado has wind speeds between 166 and 200 miles per hour. Both scales categorize the amount of damage the same, with an EF4 or F4 tornado being able to pick up and throw cars, to completely destroy well-built homes, and to turn pieces of debris into flying missiles.

New York has been hit with three F4 tornadoes, according to the data collected by NY Data Bases. This data runs from 1950 through 2021. So with that science, we have some answers.

Here's a look at some of the strongest storms:

Strongest Tornados To Ever Touch Down In New York State

Generally speaking, tornadoes aren't a common occurrence in New York state. Tornados do still happen. Here's a look at some of the strongest storms:

Tropical Storm Fred Floods Yards, Homes, Roads All Across Central New York

Tropical Storm Fred dumped several inches of rain all across Central New York, flooding yards, homes and roads.

Tropical Storm Fred Floods Fort Rickey

Tropical Storm Fred left Fort Rickey under several feet of water. Thankfully the animals are all safe.

 

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