Areas of Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall through This Weekend

A multi-day thunderstorm and heavy rain event will impact the south-central U.S. this Memorial Day weekend. Severe thunderstorms may produce large hail, severe gusts, and a possible tornado or two across portions of the central and southern Plains through Monday. The threat for heavy to excessive rainfall and possible flash flooding will return to the south-central U.S., especially in the Ozarks. Read More >

Western New York Weather History

JULY 26

1969

A tornado touched down early in the afternoon at Bergholz in the town of Wheatfield, Niagara county. No personal injuries were reported but damage was reported to be about $10,000. Several house trailers were overturned, some roofs damaged, and trees uprooted.

1987

For two hours during the early morning of the 26th, almost continuous lightning from thunderstorms awakened residents. Trees and power lines were downed by the storms - mainly in the Hamburg/Orchard Park areas. The heavy rains caused Cazenovia creek to rise to near bankfull. Near Darien lake in Genesee county, lightning struck a campground and killed three young men asleep in their tents.

1993

Severe thunderstorms developed along a warm front and moved across Western New York. The thunderstorms downed trees and power lines as they crossed Erie, Niagara, Genesee, and Wyoming counties. Wind damage was reported in Depew, Corfu, Wilson and North Java. There were many reports of fires ignited by lightning. The torrential rains caused some poor drainage flooding. Hail up to the size of ping-pong balls broke a few windshields of cars driving on the New York State Thruway. In Akron, a female cook at a golf course was slightly injured when lightning struck a nearby flagpole. The woman's ears were burned and she was treated and released from a nearby hospital.

2005

Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front. The thunderstorms produced measured winds gusting to near 60 mph which downed trees and power lines. Trees reportedly fell on houses in Avon, Gowanda and Naples. Fallen trees also damaged automobiles in Arcade, Lily Dale, Salamanca and Honeoye Falls. At Alfred State College in Allegany county, an estimated $100,000 damage occurred as the storms destroyed a dugout and storage shed, damaged athletic fields and other college properties. On Chautauqua Lake, a marina suffered substantial damage to its seawall and dockside refueling area. Also on the lake, several boats broke loose from their moorings. Utility companies reported that at the peak of the storm nearly 30,000 customers were without power. A 14-year old girl was critically injured at the Chautauqua Institution when a 4-foot diameter trees was felled by the thunderstorm winds and crushed her. A 50-year old man was injured by lightning in Webster. Lightning struck a tree and traveled through the electrical wiring in his home. Lightning also damaged the chimney of the Stanley Fire Department in Ontario county. Structure fires, reportedly started by lightning, occurred in Medina, Clarendon, Ridgeway and Shelby.

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