Tornado, Macroburst Confirmed In Hudson Valley Wednesday

ULSTER COUNTY, NY — The National Weather Service confirmed in a preliminary report Saturday that the strong thunderstorm that tore through parts of the Hudson Valley Wednesday produced an EF1 tornado and a separate macroburst.

Meteorologists said the thunderstorm produced widespread wind damage across parts of eastern Ulster County including Kingston, Hurley, Marbletown and the hills just to the north and west of the Esopus Creek.

There was also large hail during the storm that stripped leaves off trees, the report said.

The tornado touched down at 8:49 p.m. Wednesday close to Hurley Avenue (Route 29) between Davis Street and Hillside Drive and moved southeast to west of the Interstate 87.

It uprooted and snapped trees, displaced a car canopy and took some shingles off a house.

The weather service said many homes were damaged by felled trees.

The tornado, which had 90 mph estimated peak winds, traveled for a half mile, creating a 300 yard-wide path. It ended at 8:51 p.m. Wednesday.

The macroburst began at 8:37 p.m. Wednesday, 9 miles west of Kingston, and ended at 8:47 p.m., 5 miles southwest of Kingston.

It contained 90 mph estimated peak winds and was 4 miles in length and 1,750 yards wide.

Wind damage consisted of broken, snapped and uprooted trees.

The weather service said there were no fatalities or injuries caused by either event.

An EF1 tornado is considered weak, with 86 to 110 mph winds, according to the weather service.

There were thousands of Central Hudson power customers with no electricity because of the storm. The hardest hit areas were the city of Kingston, Hurley and Marbletown.

Ulster County declared a state of emergency Thursday morning to deal with the aftermath.