Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 12, NWS Buffalo, NY

July 30, 1987Erie County, Niagara County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 30, 1987, 2:35 PM EDT for Erie County, Niagara County, New York. It was in force for 55 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
Jul 30, 1987, 2:35 PM EDT (18:35 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 1987, 3:30 PM EDT
In force
55 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
Jul 30, 2:49 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 53Niagara, NY
Jul 30, 3:20 PM 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 306 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1987-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 42 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 12:00Z on 1987-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 57 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
42 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-103 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1453 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
126 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 301836
SVRBUF
NYC029-063-301930-

BULLETIN  IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
235 PM EDT THU JUL 30 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN

WESTERN NEW YORK...NIAGARA AND ERIE

AT 230 PM EDT BUFFALO RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST
WEST OF NIAGARA FALLS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.  HAIL AND TORRENTIAL
RAINS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.

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.

DUNHAM

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, Jul 30, 1:02 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
100 PM EDT THU JUL 30 1987

AT 1250 PM BUFFALO WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
NORTHWEST CATTARAUGUS COUNTY...JUST NORTHWEST OF LITTLE VALLEY.

THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS STORM MAY CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WIND...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND VERY
HEAVY RAIN WHICH MAY CAUSE POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE
ERIE BETWEEN LONG POINT AND PORT COLBORNE AND BETWEEN LONDON AND
HAMILTON ONTARIO.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PACE
Special weather statement, Jul 30, 1:39 PM EDT, 56 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
135 PM EDT THU JUL 30 1987

AT 130 PM BUFFALO WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
CENTRAL CATTARAUGUS COUNTY...JUST NORTHWEST OF SALAMANCA. PEA SIZED
HAIL...HEAVY RAIN AND WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR WERE REPORTED
WITH THIS STORM AS IT MOVED THROUGH LITTLE VALLEY.

THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE
ERIE BETWEEN LONG POINT AND PORT COLBORNE AND BETWEEN LONDON AND
HAMILTON ONTARIO. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO SCATTERED ALONG
THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO FROM TRENTON TO KINGSTON.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PACE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 2:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFGenesee60 min
Jul 30, 4:35 PM EDTTornado WarningBUFErie25 min
Jul 30, 6:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany85 min
Jul 30, 7:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.