Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Buffalo, NY

August 3, 1986Erie County, Niagara County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 1986, 6:09 AM EDT for Erie County, Niagara County, New York. It was in force for 81 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 3, 1986, 6:09 AM EDT (10:09 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 1986, 7:30 AM EDT
In force
81 min
Issued by
NWS Buffalo, NY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Erie County, NY, Niagara County, NY

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 3, 6:15 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Erie, NY

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 5 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1986-08-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 204 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 00:00Z on 1986-08-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
204 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1282 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
13 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBUF 031009
SVRBUF
NYC029-063-031130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
609 AM EDT SUN AUG 3 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES OF

NEW YORK...NORTHERN ERIE AND NIAGARA

AT 600 AM BUFFALO RADAR DETECTED A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM
OVER THE BUFFALO NIAGARA FALLS AREA. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANIED BY FREQUENT LIGHTNING
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY ALSO
CAUSE DRAINAGE FLOODING.
.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES GO TO A SAFEX PLACE IMMEDIATELY.  IN
HOMES A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM IS THE SAFEST LOCATION.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.