Cortland, N.Y. — A storm that came through Central New York on Wednesday brought “serious devastation” to the City of Cortland, the mayor said.
The remnants of Hurricane Beryl passed through the state Wednesday. The weather service has confirmed tornados touched down in Western New York.
Thousands were without power as trees came down across the state. This morning, more than 1,300 customers didn’t have power in the Cortland area; that’s now down to 159 customers as of 2:45 p.m., according to National Grid.
In Cortland trees came down on about a dozen houses, said Mayor Scott Steve. Trees came down in the city and as of Thursday afternoon some residents still didn’t have power, he said.
“There was definitely a circular wind,” Steve said. “Trees fell in all directions.”
The Cortland County Country Club had some of the worst damage, he said. Big trees at the property came down.
Some homes had shingles ripped off but no homes are a total loss, he said. No one was injured, either.
Steve said he thinks the storm came through the city at an angle because some blocks only had rain. The storm reached down to Homer where big trees came down, he said.
The National Weather Service recorded several residents posting about quarter-sized hail in Homer.
Hail was reported in Cortland County during a storm on July 10, 2024.Courtesy Jessica Burhans
The county’s 911 center was overwhelmed with calls, he said.
The center took over 357 phone calls, according to a Facebook post from the Cortland County Department of Emergency Response and Communications. There were around 202 calls for service, emergency response officials said. The calls were related to possible fires, wires down, and trees down, officials said.
The mayor had some destruction at his own home after his neighbor’s awning went airborne.
“I lost some trees and a shed,” Steve said. “The awning went over my neighbor’s house and took trees out.”
The cleanup in the city will take a couple of weeks, he said. Everyone’s done well with clean-up efforts but he reminds residents if a traffic light is out, treat it as a stop sign.
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or [email protected].