EF-1 Tornado Confirmed in Hancock Area as Crews Continue Storm Recovery

Recovery efforts are continuing in the Hancock area after severe storms Saturday evening produced an EF-1 tornado that traveled nearly 16 miles from Sanford in Broome County to Hancock in Delaware County.

The Village of Hancock has lifted its state of emergency, allowing travel to resume. The Town of Hancock remains under a state of emergency because of extensive tree damage and downed power lines that continue to make travel difficult.

Officials are urging residents to use caution while traveling, avoid downed trees and damaged structures, and never approach downed power lines. Crews have been working through the night to clear roads, restore access, and assist residents while assessing storm damage.

Distribution of water is being scheduled for this afternoon at both the Hancock and East Branch Fire Stations.

The National Weather Service in Binghamton confirmed the tornado reached peak winds of 95 miles per hour. The survey found damage along the tornado’s path, including downed and snapped trees, damage to homes and outbuildings, and impacts to power lines. The same storm also produced a microburst near Rock Valley with estimated winds of 105 miles per hour.

Ben Lott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, said the tornado began near Sanford as a weaker storm before strengthening as it moved southeast toward Hancock.

“They started out at Sanford just south of there actually and found some tree damage, evidence of a EF-0 tornado,” Lott said. “So it started out as a weaker tornado, but then as they moved to the southeast towards Hancock, they started seeing more and more damage and saw damage that would represent an EF-1 tornado.”

House and trees damaged south of Sanford, NY.

Lott said most of the damage from the tornado involved trees, though there was also personal property damage around Hancock.

Trees along Penn York Road, Wayne County, PA. (National Weather Service Binghamton)

New York tornadoes are typically on the weaker end of the Enhanced Fujita Scale, Lott said. He said warm, moist conditions combined with a strong cold front moving through the region helped create the environment for the storms.

“We just had warm moist conditions which provides a favorable environment for thunderstorms to develop,” he said. “And what really triggered the thunderstorms that produced a tornado down here, Hancock, was a strong cold front that moved through and helped really kick off these storms throughout the area.”

The National Weather Service survey found the tornado remained on the ground for nearly 16 miles. Lott said the length of the path and the amount of tree damage stood out to the survey team.

“The length of the tornado was certainly one of the longer ones we’ve seen in recent years, and probably just the damage path of the amount of trees that they had seen along the path here,” he said.

The survey also found the tornado appeared to strengthen, weaken, and strengthen again before lifting. Lott said that pattern is not unusual for longer-track tornadoes.

“For a lot of the tornado surveys that we do for anything longer than EF-0, it is common for us to see damage evident of a weak tornado and then it potentially strengthening and then either weakening or remaining a little bit stronger before it lifts,” he said.

House and yard damage, east of Hancock, NY (National Weather Service Binghamton)

The storm also produced a powerful microburst near Rock Valley. Lott said the difference between the two events comes down to how the wind moves.

“A tornado is, you know, a swirling of wind,” he said. “It’s a funnel that extends from the storm all the way down to the ground.” A microburst, he said, is “just a lot of wind coming down in a small area.”

Lott said the storm was warned before it reached the area, though people closer to where the tornado began had less lead time than those farther along the path.

He urged residents to take tornado warnings seriously.

“Anytime that you receive a tornado warning, you should seek shelter in a sturdy building on the lowest level,” Lott said. “If you have a basement to go to, that’s going to be the lowest level that you’ll want to go to.”

For people without basements, Lott recommended moving to an interior room away from exterior walls.

“If you are on the main level, try to find an interior room away from exterior walls,” he said. “Typically, that can be a bathroom or even a closet. You just want to place as many walls between you and the outside as possible.”

Lott also urged people participating in outdoor activities to have a severe weather plan.

“If you are doing outdoor activities, you need to end those immediately and take cover,” he said. “It’s always important to be aware of the potential for severe weather.”

More severe weather is possible Tuesday afternoon and evening. Lott said the main concern is damaging wind gusts, though large hail and a tornado or two cannot be ruled out.

“We’re looking at something similar to what we saw on Saturday,” he said. “The main concern with the severe weather for Tuesday are going to be damaging wind gusts.”

Image: Tree on house, east of Hancock, NY. (National Weather Service Binghamton)