The Villages of Montgomery and Maybrook and parts of the Town of Montgomery were devastated Thursday night by an EF-1 tornado.

A National Weather Service storm survey team confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Montgomery. An EF-1 tornado is a weak tornado with wind speeds between 86 and 110 mph.

The tornado likely touched down on the northwest side of the Orange County Airport near the Wallkill River. Straight line winds on the southern flank of the tornado likely caused tree damage at the intersection of Route 211 and Canning Road as well as minor structural damage noted to two buildings on the airport. A temporary meteorological station, installed on the airfield to support this weekend’s airshow, measured sustained winds of 69 mph with a peak gust of 82 mph before the communications went out.

The tornado moved east from near the river into the Village of Montgomery, where damage was extensive along Weaver Street as well as Chandler Lane. The tornado then continued eastward across Beaver Dam Road to Old Neelytown Road where it ended. The bulk of the damage consisted of large snapped and uprooted trees.

The storm featured an estimated maximum wind speed of 90 mph and a maximum path width of 600 yards. The tornado traveled 2.6 miles during its estimated time frame of 6:15 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

No serious injuries or fatalities due to the tornado have been reported.

State of Emergency Declarations were issued in the Village and Town of Montgomery on Thursday evening. Residents were ordered to shelter in place until 6:00 a.m. Friday except in the case of an emergency. Dry ice was also available on Friday to those in need.

In the aftermath of the storm, the Village of Montgomery and Town of Montgomery Departments of Public Works, Town of Montgomery Highway Department and first responders worked through Thursday night to clean up trees and direct traffic.

“I think that we’ve had a really tremendous response,” said Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher. “The streets have been cleaned up in ways that they probably shouldn’t have been.”

Central Hudson Gas & Electric and New York State Electric and Gas Corporation crews have been out fixing downed power lines and cutting up trees, working hard to restore power.

There were 4,000 people without power on Thursday night. After working through the night, there were less than 700 people without power Friday morning. By Saturday afternoon only 97 households were without power.
Maybrook Mayor Dennis Leahy and the board of trustees confirmed Saturday morning that electricity had been restored to village hall.

“Special thanks to Central Hudson, Maybrook DPW Superintendent Matt Thorp, the Maybrook DPW, the Maybrook Police Department, Maybrook Fire Chief Patrick Romanik, the Maybrook Fire Department and New York State DOT for their collaboration in getting our village back online,” Mayor Dennis Leahy and the board of trustees announced on the village Facebook page.

Village of Montgomery residents are ordered to place brush from the storm curbside so the Department of Public Works can pick it up this week.