Alert archive / New York / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Buffalo, NY

June 16, 1986Niagara County, Orleans County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this tornado warning at Jun 16, 1986, 5:30 PM EDT for Niagara County, Orleans County, New York. It was in force for 90 min. 2 reports 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
Jun 16, 1986, 5:30 PM EDT (21:30 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 1986, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
90 min
Issued by
NWS Buffalo, NY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Niagara County, NY, Orleans 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
Jun 16, 6:25 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Niagara, NY
Jun 16, 6:30 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Orleans, 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 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 38 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 12:00Z on 1986-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 553 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 12:00Z on 1986-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 122 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
553 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
902 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBUF 162130
TORBUF
NYC063-073-162300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
530 PM EDT MON JUN 16 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NEW YORK...NIAGARA AND ORLEANS

AT 530PM EDT BUFFALO RADAR INDICATED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
OVER LAKE ONTARIO NORTH OF LEWISTON NEW YORK.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MERGING TOGETHER.  THIS OFTEN INDICATES
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES OR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE TORNADO ARE MOVING EAST
SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

BE ON THE ALERT FOR TORNADOES OR 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 THE BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR
ROOM OR HALLWAY AND GET UNDER A STURDY PIECE OF FURNITURE.  MOBILE
HOMES AND AUTOS OFFER NOD SHELTER.

 DUNHAM NAME OR OPTIONAL FREE FORMAT ACTION STATEMENT PRECEDING

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie75 min
Jun 16, 6:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFGenesee, Wyoming62 min
Jun 16, 6:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New York, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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.