On Friday April 19th 2013 severe weather occurred across NY State. A strong cold front caused a narrow line of thunderstorms to move from west to east. In some locations these thunderstorms were severe:: a tornado occurred near the town of Bainbridge, NY. Here is the storm summary from the NWS Binghamton:
Across Eastern NY State several reports of strong thunderstorm winds that resulted in trees toppling, power lines down and property damage also occurred:
Local Storm Reports Summary
What is the definition of a severe thunderstorm?
From the above one can see that a severe thunderstorm is ANY thunderstorm that produces any one of a combination of the following: a tornado, damaging winds of 50 knots (58 mph) or large hail of 1" in diameter or greater.
The following are the hail sizes that the equates with various terminology:
Pea.............. 1/4 inch, not severe
Marble........... 1/2 inch, not severe
Mothball.........1/2 inch, not severe
Dime............. 3/4 inch, not severe
Penny............3/4 inch, not severe
Nickel........... 7/8 inch, not severe
Quarter..........1 inch, severe
Half dollar......1 1/4 inches, severe
Walnut...........1 1/2 inches, severe
Ping pong ball.. 1 1/2 inches, severe
Golf ball........1 3/4 inches, severe
Hen egg..........2 inches, severe
Tennis ball......2 1/2 inches, severe
Baseball.........2 3/4 inches, severe
Tea cup..........3 inches, severe
Grapefruit.......4 inches, severe
Softball.........4 1/2 inches, severe
Note that lightning and heavy rain ARE not more about lightning and flash flooding in an upcoming blog update.elements of a severe thunderstorm, nonetheless lightning and potentially very heavy rains caused by a thunderstorm that can lead to flash flooding, are a thunderstorms two greatest producers of fatalities. I will talk
What is a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado WATCH? A Severe Thunderstorm Watch outlines an area where an organized episode of hail 1 inch diameter or larger and/or damaging thunderstorm winds are expected during a three to eight hour period. A Tornado Watch includes the large hail and damaging wind threats, as well as the possibility of multiple tornadoes. Typical watches cover about 25,000 square miles, or about half the size of Iowa. [from the Storm Prediction Center (SPC)]
What is a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warning?
A warning means that severe weather has been observed, or is expected soon. That is reports of damage, large hail or a tornado has been sighted on the ground or indicated by radar.
Both severe weather watches and warnings are issued by NOAA not local TV meteorologists. WATCHES are issued by the SPC and warnings are disseminated by local NWS offices.
