Cooperstown, NY Tornado |
May 31st, 2002 |
On May 31st, 2002, a severe thunderstorm produced a tornado
that touched down 5 miles south-southwest of Cooperstown, and tracked about
3 miles east to Phoenix Mills before dissipating. The tornado was confirmed
to be an F0 on the Fujita tornado scale, with estimated wind speeds around
70 mph.
The tornado initially touched down just west of Brunner Road
in Hartwick Township with some minor damage to a barn. Most of the damage
in this area was to a grove of hemlocks with diameters up to 1 foot. Most
of this tree damage was twisted and lying in several directions. The damage
was consistent with F0 intensity
which has winds between 40 and 72 mph.
The tornado then tracked due east across the hillside parallel
and north of Old Kinney Road where the most significant tree damage was observed.
Numerous trees were snapped off and uprooted in several directions. Most of
the tree diameters ranged from 6 to 18 inches. The tornado then tracked across
a swamp with lessor tree damage noted. There were two more areas with minor
tree damage along the path of the tornado close to where it lifted in Phoenix
Mills.
One barn sustained some damage on Brunner Road with some very
minor damage to some of the siding at a Ford dealership in Phoenix Mills.
The overall path length of the tornado was about 3 miles. Most of the significant
damage was found over the first two miles of it's path. The damage then was
more sporadic over the last mile of it's track near Phoenix Mills.
The maximum width of the tornado damage was about 150 to 200
yards...with most of the path length having damage widths of 50 yards or less.
Damage Photos...Click for Larger Image
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