As we continue our look at the history of tornadoes throughout the state of New York, we now stretch a little further to Otsego County.

So far, we have looked at the history of tornadoes in Central New York, covering Oneida, Herkimer, Onondaga, Madison, and Oswego Counties (Don't worry, we'll get to Cayuga County - whether you consider that CNY or not). But now we're going to dip south a bit and look at Otsego County.

According to Homefacts, Otsego County is a low-risk area for tornadoes. The county sees an average of one tornado a year, with 30 being reported from 1950 to 2014. Even though it's a low-risk area, Otsego County has seen an F4 Tornado - The strongest rating of a tornado in New York (there have not been any reports of F5 or EF5 tornadoes to touch down in the state). Although this was a very strong tornado, no deaths were reported - 20 people however, were injured.

Let's take a look at the actual dates and strengths of tornadoes that have hit Otsego County, according to Homefacts:

Aug. 16, 1961 - F0
June 16, 1976 - F2
July 26, 1985 - F1
June 16, 1986 - F0
June 22, 1987 - F0
July 25, 1987 - F0
July 10, 1989 - F4 --> One of only two F4 tornadoes to hit NY (from these records)
May 17, 1990 - F0
Aug. 28, 1990 - F1
May 2, 1992 - F0
May 2, 1992 - F1
May 2, 1992 - F1
July 5, 1992 - F1
Sept. 3, 1992 - F0
Nov. 8, 1996 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F0
May 31, 1998 - F2
May 31, 1998 - F3
June 26, 1998 - F1
May 31, 2002 - F0
Aug. 29, 2003 - F1
June 28, 2010 - EF0 --> First tornado reported after switch to "EF" rating
Apr. 26, 2011 - EF1
Apr. 28, 2011 - EF1
Apr. 28, 2011 - EF1
July 29, 2011 - EF0
July 29, 2011 - EF0
May 29, 2013 - EF1

As you can see from the data, 1998 was a very busy year for tornadoes in Otsego County (especially May 31st) - A total of six tornadoes touched down that year. 1992 and 2011 where the only other really busy years, with both seeing five tornadoes.

***Finding information on the F4 Tornado that hit the county has been very difficult. If you have any details on that storm from July 10, 1989 please share it with us. You can leave a note in the "comments section" at the bottom of this page.

 

 


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