As we continue a look at the history of tornadoes in New York, our next stop is our hardest hit area yet. Let's take a look at these storms in Madison County...

Madison County is considered a moderate-risk area for tornadoes, and it has been one of the hardest hit areas for the state of New York. On average Madison County only sees one tornado a year, but they have seen 44 tornadoes between 1950 - 2014 (which is the highest out of any of the counties we have looked at in Central New York).

Some of the towns in Madison County include Cazenovia, Hamilton, and Madison. When we're talking about tornadoes, the town in the area that probably sticks out the most is Smithfield - This town was hit with such an awful storm in 2014 that took the lives of four people (including a baby - Only four-months-old). The EF2 tornado ended up making national news. Here's a clip of that story:

That tornado was the most deadly one to hit Madison County. According to Homefacts, only one other storm had reported deaths, and that was back in October 1989 (where two people were killed).

Like most counties in Central New York, Madison County tornadoes are usually on the weaker side of the scale, coming in as an EF0 or EF1. Some however, make it to the EF2 mark. Here's a list of the tornadoes that have hit Madison County and their strength, according to Homefacts:

July 1, 1967 - F0
Sept. 18, 1977 - F2
July 21, 1980 - F1
July 11, 1984 - F0
July 11, 1984 - F0
July 26, 1985 - F1
June 24, 1989 - F1
Oct. 14, 1989 - F2 --> This one killed two people and injured 3 others
Nov. 16, 1989 - F0
July 23, 1990 - F2
Aug. 28, 1990 - F1
May 2, 1992 - F0
May 2, 1992 - F1
July 31, 1992 - F1
Sept. 3, 1992 - F0
May 15, 1993 - F1
June 15, 1993 - F0
July 29, 1993 - F0
July 29, 1993 - F0
Aug. 24, 1993 - F1
May 26, 1994 - F1
Aug. 26, 1996 - F0
Nov. 8, 1996 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F2
June 2, 1998 - F1
June 2, 1998 - F1
Sept. 24, 2001 - F0
Aug. 29, 2003 - F1
July 29, 2006 - F0
May 16, 2009 - EF2 --> First tornado reported after switching to the "EF" scale
Apr. 26, 2011 - EF1
Apr. 28, 2011 - EF1
Apr. 28, 2011 - EF1
Apr. 28, 2011 - EF2
July 26, 2011 - EF0
July 26, 2011 - EF0
July 29, 2011 - EF0
July 23, 2012 - EF1
June 17, 2014 - EF1
July 8, 2014 - EF1
July 8, 2014 - EF1
July 8, 2014 - EF2

As you can see from the dates listed above, 2011 was the busiest year for tornadoes in Madison County with seven storms reported - That's the yearly average for the entire state of New York! Even though that was a busy year, 2014 will always be remembered in this area - For the tornadoes in July.

 

 


MORE: Torrential Rain in CNY - July 8th, 2014

 

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