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Weather Service: Storm that hit Potsdam 'not a tornado'

Posted 7/18/12

POTSDAM -- A National Weather Service meteorologist says the winds that hit Potsdam yesterday were not from a tornado but from what they call a gust front. The high winds and heavy rains hit the …

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Weather Service: Storm that hit Potsdam 'not a tornado'

Posted

POTSDAM -- A National Weather Service meteorologist says the winds that hit Potsdam yesterday were not from a tornado but from what they call a gust front.

The high winds and heavy rains hit the village at about 3:30 p.m., causing extensive damage to trees and some roofs as the storm blew through. Power was interrupted, as were Time-Warner cable services.

Andy Nash, Meteorologist in Charge at the Burlington NWS station, says that all appearances are that 70 to 80 mph straight-line winds hit the village, and there are no indications that the winds originated in a tornado.

Nash said there were none of the signature readings from radar that indicate a tornado.

He said that reports of the winds hitting suddenly and the fact that the rain came after the wind hit and not during the rain are more typical of a gust front.

"It's like emptying a bucket of water. The downdraft hits the ground and spreads out in a rush of wind," Nash said. "If it was a tornado, the winds would have been in the midst of the rain. Tornadoes do not form at the leading edge of a storm.

"The winds were blowing from west to east, and reports of the trees down show they mostly fell the same way," Nash said.

"We also look at other reports to see if there was anything unusual," and there was nothing that supported the idea that the winds that hit the village, taking down many trees and wires and ripping the roofs off of some buildings, did not amount to a tornado.

"So we're pretty certain it was not a tornado," Nash said, "but the winds had to be 70 to 80 mph to do that kind of damage."