Mechanicville tornado turns 25
Tornadoes tore through Mechanicville, Stillwater and Schaghticoke a quarter century ago, leveling dozens of homes and businesses as a remarkable combination of weather ingredients sent forth twisters blamed for some of the worst weather damage the region has seen.
The May 31, 1998, storm leveled dozens of buildings in Saratoga and Rensselaer counties and caused $60 million in financial losses.
The tornado caused the most extensive damage in the region but other tornadoes have destroyed homes and businesses including a May 22, 2014, tornado that devastated part of Duanesburg.
While tornadoes are not likely any time of year in the Capital Region, if there’s any time extreme weather could happen, the month of May is a good candidate, said Christina Speciale, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany.
“We’re still in that transition between winter and summer,” she said.
Strong weather disturbances are still lingering from winter this time of year. Combine that with warming air masses, and you could see hail, severe storms or tornadoes.
Back in May 2014, for 22 minutes a tornado cut a path 7 miles long and a quarter mile wide through Duanesburg. With winds up to 140 miles per hour, it was rated an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. It was the most intense storm in recent memory, Speciale said.
The tornado that devastated the Mechanicville area in 1998 lasted longer and was more widespread, Speciale said. Ranked an F3 — the National Weather Service was still using the Fujita Scale and not the Enhanced Fujita Scale at the time — there were three additional tornadoes confirmed in the Albany area and dozens reported across the Northeast, according to the National Weather Service.
But whether a tornado could hit the Capital Region again is largely unpredictable, Speciale said. The year 2020 saw 14
tornadoes in the region, but only three each the following two years. She advised checking weather predictions and alerts.
“Keep your eyes to the sky,” Speciale said. “If the sky looks ominous, keep yourself aware.”
The following are dates when other tornadoes hit the region:
• May 29, 1995, a tornado started at Hudson and traveled east for 15 miles causing damage. It was classified as an F2 with speeds between 113 and 157 mph. The storm traveled toward Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where it damaged the fairgrounds, destroyed the grandstand and gained strength. It was classified as an F4 tornado with speeds of 207 to 260 mph when it landed in the Berkshire Mountain community.
• On July 21, 2003, tornadoes with winds over 100 mph leveled houses, trees and power lines in Catskill and Schodack. A furious thunderstorm carved a path of destruction from Ulster County to Bennington, Vermont. The twister that touched down in Catskill was rated F2 on the Fujita Scale. The twister – packing winds between 113 mph and 157 mph – cut a 50-yard-wide, halfmile-long swath of collapsed trees in Palenville before hitting a campground
on Route 32 in the hamlet of Kiskatom about a half-mile north of the Friar Tuck Inn. A woman inside a trailer in Catskill survived after her trailer was tossed dozens of feet.
• Aug. 21, 2019, tornadoes touched down in Saratoga Springs and Johnstown. The Saratoga County tornado touched down at 3:25 p.m. for a half-mile run near Gilbert Road in the city’s outer district and had a maximum wind speed of 105 mph, the National Weather
Service said. The Fulton County tornado hit estimated wind speeds of 85 mph and followed a path from Earl Road in the town of Johnstown that continued across Route 29, then across O’neil Avenue, to Pleasant Avenue and ended on or near Irving Street in the city of Johnstown.
• May 15, 2020, a tornado carved a nearly 2-milelong path across the town of Wilton north of Ballard Road. The twister packed wind speeds between 85 and 90 mph during its
travel across the Saratoga County town.
• Aug. 29, 2020, two tornadoes — one in Schaghticoke and the other in Stillwater – were reported. The tornado damaged three buildings at the Hoosic Valley Central School District campus in Schaghticoke. The one in Stillwater destroyed a mobile home and caused other damage. The tornadoes were classified as EF1 with winds of up to 100 mph.