Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 24, NWS Buffalo, NY

September 29, 1986Niagara County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 29, 1986, 9:14 PM EDT for Niagara County, New York. It was in force for 56 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 29, 1986, 9:14 PM EDT (01:14 UTC)
Expired
Sep 29, 1986, 10:10 PM EDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Buffalo, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Niagara County, NY

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 27 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 1986-09-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1008 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 1986-09-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 238 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1008 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1089 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
238 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
298 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBUF 300114
SVRBUF
NYC063-300210-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
914 PM EDT MON SEP 29 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND 
SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1010 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

NEW YORK...NORTHERN NIAGARA
...THIS WARNING ALSO INCLUDES THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS FOR THE
COUNTY JUST MENTIONED

AT 910PM BUFFALO RADAR DETECTED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM
JUST WEST OF NIAGARA ON THE LAKE. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 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 SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.  IN
HOMES A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM IS THE SAFEST LOCATION.

ALL MARINE INTERESTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND SMALL BOATS TAKE
SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 29, 5:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
530 PM EDT MON SEP 29 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 530 IN EFFECT TIL 10 PM EDT
   FOR CHAUTAUQUA..CATTARAUGUS..ALLEGANY..STEUBEN..SCHUYLER AND
   CHEMUNG COUNTIES...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN A BAND ABOUT 20 MILES WIDE FROM NEAR
ELLICOTTVILLE IN CATTARAUGUS COUNTY..ACROSS THE SOUTHERN FINGER LAKES
REGION TO NEAR CORTLAND NEW YORK. THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS WERE NEAR
FRANKLINVILLE..AVOCA..AND KEUKA LAKE.

THESE SHOWERS AD THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 40 TO 45
MILES AN HOUR.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER ONTARIO FROM BRANTFORD AND LONDON TO
LAKE HURON. THESE SHOWERS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER
ADVISORIES AND STATEMENTS.

LAZARUS
Special weather statement, Sep 29, 6:41 PM EDT, 2 hours 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
630 PM EDT MON SEP 29 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 530 IN EFFECT TIL 10 PM EDT
   FOR CHAUTAUQUA..CATTARAUGUS..ALLEGANY..STEUBEN..SCHUYLER AND
   CHEMUNG COUNTIES...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES.

A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS SOUTH OF ANGELICA IN ALLEGANY COUNTY. SHOWERS
AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTEREC FROM THE CENTRAL SOUTHERN TIER
..ACROSS THE FINGER LAKES TO EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO.

THESE SHOWERS AD THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST ABOUT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER ONTARIO FROM LONDON AND HAMILTON TO
GEORGIAN BAY AND LAKE SIMCOE. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER
ADVISORIES AND STATEMENTS.

LAZARUS
Special weather statement, Sep 29, 7:43 PM EDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
730 PM EDT MON SEP 29 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 530 IN EFFECT TIL 10 PM EDT
   FOR CHAUTAUQUA..CATTARAUGUS..ALLEGANY..STEUBEN..SCHUYLER AND
   CHEMUNG COUNTIES...

A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR SODUS NEW YORK. SCATTERED SHOWERS WERE
NEAR AVON AND HORNELL NEW YORK. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM WERE
MOVING EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER ONTARIO FROM HAMILTON AND SIMCOE TO
LAKE SIMCOE AND PETERBOROUGH. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.

BE ON THE LATER FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER
ADVISORIES AND STATEMENTS.

LAZARUS
Special weather statement, Sep 29, 8:36 PM EDT, 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
830 PM EDT MON SEP 29 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 530 FOR CHAUTAUQUA...
   CATTARAUGUS..ALLEGANY..STEUBEN..SCHUYLER AND CHEMUNG COUNTIES
   IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

ALTHOUGH THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE
SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES OF NEW YORK...AT 830 PM BUFFALO WEATHER RADAR
SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WESTERN END OF LAKE ONTARIO AND
OVER THE NIAGARA PENINSULA SOUTH OF HAMILTON. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

THE STORM OVER THE NIAGARA PENINSULA COULD BRUSH THE EXTREME NORTHWEST
PORTION OF NIAGARA COUNTY AND THE UPPER NIAGARA RIVER OVER THE NEXT HOUR
OR TWO.

LISTEN FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS ON THESE STORMS.
END/JJP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Buffalo, NY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 30, 2:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFChautauqua101 min
Sep 30, 3:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCattaraugus, Erie64 min
Sep 30, 3:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFWyoming63 min

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.