The City of Rome is in a State of Emergency following a tornado that ripped through downtown on Tuesday afternoon. Photo galleries from destructive storm.

The former St, Mary's Church In the city had a portion of its roof ripped off, and the steeple collapsed during the storm.

Severe thunderstorms pushed through the area near the 4 p.m. hour, when a tornado was confirmed by radar, and then confirmed by eye contact on the ground in the City of Rome. Winds were reported at Griffiss to be more than 80 mph, and even blew the iconic B52 Bomber at the entrance of the park off its pad.

Governor Kathy Hochul declared Rome in a State of Emergency, and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente declared a State of Emergency for the entire county on Tuesday.

While Rome received a brunt of the storm, there are several trees, limbs and power lines along with flooding reported throughout the region after the heavy storms blew through with torrential rains and high winds on Tuesday.

This is a developing story.

The photos included here were taken by Dave and Dana Olney of CAP Media and provided for use by WIBX and Townsquare Media.

Rome Tornado July 16, 2024

Gallery 2 From the Ground Rome Tornado July 16, 2024

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