OMIGOSH! Downtown Buffalo had unpredicted EF1 tornado today

[wnylib]

For people in the South and Midwest, this would not be a big deal. But for Buffalo it is.

Western NY occasionally gets tornadoes, but they are not common here, and I don't know of any before today ever hitting in the city. Only a few weeks ago about 4 tornadoes struck towns and rural areas outside of Buffalo when the remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved into our northern climate.

Today there was a severe thunderstorm warning, but no tornado warnings and no indications to expect one .

No reported injuries, but there's damage to downtown Buffalo buildings.

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/severe-weather-hits-downtown-buffalo/

[StarryNite]

1. Oh no! I hope everybody and all the animals are okay.

[wnylib]

2. This tornado was inside the city, in the downtown district

moving among city office buildings just a few blocks away from City Hall. Fortunately, no wild animals there except maybe birds who probably had taken shelter already when the storm started.

[electric_blue68]

9. Woah, freaky!

[wnylib]

12. Several people in office buildings watched and took videos.

Last edited Tue Aug 6, 2024, 12:04 AM - Edit history (1)

I'd have been hiding out in the bathroom if it was me.

There was one video that showed really well the formation from swirling clouds. A funnel started to drop down from them, went back up, then went down to the ground for a minute before dissipating. Right behind it, another one formed and touched down briefly. I tried to find that video again to post a link here, but couldn't.

Other videos recorded a funnel from a different angle, showing a clearly formed funnel from cloud to ground with downtown buildings in the background. So, I think that at least 3 formed but two dissipated quickly. The 3rd one stayed on the ground longer and traveled through the streets. But the US Weather Service only confirmed the one that formed completely and stayed on the ground for a while.

One video of that longer lasting one, taken through an office window, was interesting. Funnels are not clearly visible until they collect dust and debris. The video showed debris circling around but the funnel itself was almost transparent and invisible.

Damage was limited to some lost rooftops, overturned cars, broken windows, and numerous downed trees and electrical wires. A nursing home lost half of its roof. Patients were ok, but several had to be relocated.

[electric_blue68]

14. Taking videos, waaah! Bathroom sounds better!...

Goodness, 3 in succession! 🥺 Even if the the first two disappeared fast!

I don't think I knew they could start "invisible " until they picked up dust, and debris!

Poor nursing home, residents, and other damaged things.

The one I mentioned going out of our northern Bronx City Line into NYS - well, before it did that it touched down briefly...
right outside a nursing home.
And right near the corner area where my dad's window was. 😦 Thiis was a really big nursing home, too!
My sister recognized it!

[wnylib]

15. I learned about the initial invisibility of the funnels back in 1985

when a supercell storm out of eastern Ohio spawned 40+ tornadoes in a 10 hour period. They ranged from F0 to F5 and from northeastern Ohio into NW PA. From there, the tornado formation path split. Part went east into central PA and part went north into western NY and southern Ontario, Canada.

Since I'm originally from NW PA, a few days after the storms I drove to the area that was hit. I spoke with a woman in a small town there who watched a funnel form and waited until it was visible to get photos of it. She explained to me how they become visible at ground level. The clouds that they come out of are dark, so you can see the clouds swirling and the top of the tornado forming, but the mid section below that and down to the ground is swirling air that you can't see. You can see some debris swirling around, but the whole funnel becomes visible from top to bottom after the lower section sucks up dirt and smaller debris into the funnel.

She got so fascinated watching the process from her porch that she forgot about taking shelter. Her brother grabbed her arm and took her inside to their basement. When they came out, the house was gone.

[LoisB]

3. Wow! I hope there will be no injuries found.

[malaise]

4. Wow

Wasn’t there one in Binghamton not so long ago?

[Cha]

5. Wow... lucky tthere were No Injuries!

That is a weather Phenomenon!

[wnylib]

6. Climate change.

[Cha]

8. Exactly.. Extreme !

[uponit7771]

7. Jet stream is super bent, its going to be in the lower 80s in KC In August

[electric_blue68]

10. Oh, I hear you! In NYC, and the Very Close By NYS, NJ,and CN area we have gotten an F0,F1 every 10+ years or so. But..

in the Mid '00s we suddenly got ?3 in one summer, ?early Fall. And a couple the next few years! These took place in Brooklyn, and Queens. One started to originate in The Bronx. My friend in more northern Bronx (a former Texan) looking out, and upwards from her 6th floor window saw the circular rotation, and beginning "wall" emerge downwards! It touched down at near the City Line, go over to NYS, into Connecticut.

Damaged roof tops, top floors, some downed trees, a few crushed cars.
Really crayzeee stuff for us!
Maaaybe in the '10s, as well.

Yeah, wtf?!

[Retrograde]

11. Yikes!

I remember the occasional tornado out in eastern Erie or Wyoming county, but not in Buffalo proper.

[wnylib]

13. After Buffalo, the storm moved eastward into those counties

causing severe storm warnings and flood watches there.

The funnel formed right at the shore of Lake Erie and moved east into the city. There are videos that show the formation from swirling clouds, but stupid Fox reported it as a water spout that moved inland. It's possible for water spouts to do that, but pretty rare, and several videos confirm that it was a land tornado that formed overhead right over the land at the shore.