1989 Coldenham tornado

In the afternoon hours of November 16, 1989, a relatively weak but deadly tornado would move north through Orange County, located in the state of New York. Despite causing relatively little damage for the majority of its path, late in its life the tornado blew down a free-standing cafeteria wall located at the East Coldenham Elementary School, killing nine students and injuring eighteen others. Though the event was officially recorded as a tornado, conclusive evidence from a survey by a team led by Ted Fujita and others indicates that it was likely a downburst instead, although the disaster is still officially attributed to this tornado.

1989 Coldenham tornado

The collapsed wall, as seen after the tornado.
Meteorological history
Date	November 16, 1989
Duration	26 minutes
F1 tornado
on the Fujita scale
Highest winds	~100 mph (160 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities	9 (+1 indirect)
Injuries	18
Damage	$25 million (1989 USD)
Areas affected	Orange County, New York
Part of the November 1989 tornado outbreak and Tornadoes of 1989

Meteorological synopsis

Main article: November 1989 tornado outbreak § Meteorological synopsis

On November 16, 1989, a tornado watch was in effect for Madison and adjacent counties from 12:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Soon after the issuance of the watch, emergency management officials, storm spotters and the NWS staff at Huntsville placed into effect a coordinated plan of action in accordance with established procedures. Beginning at 12:45 p.m., WSO Huntsville issued warnings for the west part of its county warning area as an intense squall line moved into northwest Alabama. Storm spotters reported large hail and intense straight-line wind associated with this squall line. Ten minutes prior to this, the tornado would touch down, and another violent tornado would later hit Huntsville, Alabama.

Tornado summary

Official records state that the tornado touched down to the south in Monroe at approximately 12:31 p.m. EST (17:31 UTC), moving north for around nine miles (14 km) to the East Coldenham area. As the storm struck the elementary school, approximately 120 children were eating lunch in the school cafeteria. One of the walls collapsed onto numerous children, killing seven instantly and injuring at least 20. Two of the injured later died in hospitals. When the tornado began to hit the school, the principal and other staff began trying to move students into the hallways in the immediate seconds before the collapse. Roughly 200 state and local police, fire fighters, and ambulance workers converged on the school to provide assistance, along with 25 ambulances, several fire rescue vans, and a helicopter. The search and rescue operations were completed by 7:15 p.m. EST (00:15 UTC) that evening.

Aftermath

Fatalities

Ten people were killed by the tornado; nine of these fatalities were direct. All ten people killed were children, and a tenth child was hit and killed by a distracted driver who was staring at the damaged elementary school. The other nine deaths occurred when a brick-laden wall that supported the cafeteria ceiling gave out while children were eating lunch, collapsing into the building and killing seven, with two more children dying at hospitals days later.

The disaster received a tremendous amount of national and international media coverage at the time of the tragedy because most major news media outlets were at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, just ten miles away, to cover the awarding of the Sylvanus Thayer Award to former President Ronald Reagan, and accordingly were on site within minutes.

See also

• 1978 Whippoorwill tornado

Notes and footnotes