REPORT: Radar confirms pair of North Country Tornados during wild Wednesday storm outbreak

LEWIS & ONEIDA COUNTIES- The damage is done and folks across the local region are taking their first big breather in the wake of a violent outbreak of storms Wednesday, including a pair of radar confirmed tornadoes in the North Country.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo, NY has confirmed a tornado that touched down in Lewis County, between Osceola and Montague.

National Weather Service officials said this tornado touched down shortly after 2:30 p.m. approximately 7-miles northeast of Redfield, NY, prompting a tornado warning for several communities in Lewis County, which since has expired.

Later on in the evening at around 6:00 p.m., radar confirmed another tornado touchdown just east of State Route 28 in Forestport, NY.

Emergency crews were concentrated along the Horton Road, just past the bridge over Woodhull Creek and over the railroad tracks (see image above and check out Forestport Fire Department's Facebook page for more), where several trees and limbs had been ripped up and tossed around like children’s toys.

Numerous eye witnesses on-scene told us that they noticed rotation in the sky over the Forestport area as the storm approached.

In addition to these tornadoes, folks in the Lowville, NY region are cleaning up after a disastrous flooding blitz that descended upon the village throughout Wednesday afternoon.

PHOTO BY RHONDA HALL-ALLEN: Flooding between the Lowville United Methodist Church and Jeb's Restaurant. A witness in this area during the flood claimed it was the "scariest thing" they have ever experienced.

As of this report, officials have declared States of Emergency for both the village of Lowville and Lewis County.

Several road closures have been reported (please keep checking our Moose Facebook page for the latest updates).

Lewis County offices will be closed on Thursday, July 11, 2024 to all non-essential employees.

We will provide further updates as they come in, but until further notice, officials in Lewis County are strongly urging residents to stay off the roads and stay away from bridges until the damage can be further assessed.

The no unnecessary travel advisories, which were issued Wednesday for the village of Lowville, NY and parts of Lewis County, have both been rescinded as of 8:00 a.m. Thursday.

Headline image by Brian Trainor.