Areas of Excessive Rainfall and Severe Thunderstorms for Friday

Heavy to excessive rainfall may produce areas of flooding Friday and Friday night from central Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are expected from central Texas to middle Tennessee and central Kentucky Friday afternoon into early Friday night. Large hail and damaging winds are the main threats. Read More >

Western New York Weather History

NOVEMBER 22

1956

Nov. 21st-22nd...The Thanksgiving Day snowstorm on the 22nd followed a westerly gale on the 21st (fastest mile 56 mph from the southwest) striking heaviest from central Erie and Wyoming counties southward. Four feet of snow was reported from the Springville area. (Only a trace was received at the Buffalo Airport.)

1995

Lake effect squalls began to set up during the late afternoon and early evening of the 21st and continued for about 24 hours until late on the 22nd. Snowfall amounts ranged from near a foot downwind of Lake Erie to over a foot off Lake Ontario. Specific snow amounts included: 14 inches at Palermo and Parish, 12 inches at Sherman, 10 inches in Sinclairville and 7 inches in Franklinville.

2000

November 20th-22nd...Cold air crossing the warm waters of Lakes Erie and Ontario resulted in lake effect squalls that dropped over two feet downwind of the lakes. Off Lake Erie, the squall developed around midday on the 20th in a southwest flow ahead of a cold front. Snow fell at the rate of two to four inches per hour for several hours. The storm crippled much of the Buffalo metro area. Tens of thousands of people were stranded in autos as city and suburban streets became clogged with traffic and came to a standstill. Three thousand school children were stranded in buses which were unable to complete their routes. Snowfall in this early stage were as high as two feet in a narrow strip about three miles wide. After the passage of a cold front the squall moved south on the northwest flow setting up across the western southern tier of New York. Nearly two feet of snow fell across that region on the 21st-22nd. The squall lifted north again on the 22nd ahead of another cold front with several inches in southern Erie county. After the frontal passage late on the 22nd, the squall moved back south and dissipated as strong high pressure built in across the area. Erie, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus counties were declared federal disaster areas. Specific snowfall reports included: Stockton 31"; New Albion 30"; Sherman 27"; Buffalo 16-25"; Amherst 24"; Jamestown 22" and Ashford 15". Off Lake Ontario, strong squalls set up on the 20th over Oswego county then drifted south on the 21st into the Syracuse area. The squall lifted north on the 22nd across Oswego into Jefferson county late in the day. The flow turned to northwest, then north after the frontal passage late on the 22nd and brought several inches of fluffy snow to the south shore of Lake Ontario including the Rochester area. Specific reports included: Parish 28"; West Monroe 26"; North Osceola 24"; Oswego 12-24"; Watertown 8-16" and Rochester 6".

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