Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 20, NWS Buffalo, NY
NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 1988, 6:30 PM EDT for Allegany County, New York. It was in force for 2 hr. 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
- Aug 5, 1988, 6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 5, 1988, 8:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 2 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Buffalo, NY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Allegany 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 7:22 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Allegany, NY | |
| Aug 5, 7:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Allegany, 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 93 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1419 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -47 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1043 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBUF 052228 SVRBUF NYC003-060030- BULLETIN IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 630 PM EDT FRI AUG 5 1988 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WESTERN NEW YORK...ALLEGANY AT 630 PM EDT BUFFALO RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SOUTHEAST OF OLEAN. ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA NORTHEAST OF BRADFORD. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. 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 ToHREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY. IN HOMES A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM IS THE SAFEST LOCATION. LEVAN
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, Aug 5, 2:28 PM EDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCHESTER NY 230 PM EDT FRI AUG 05 1988 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING INTO WESTERN LIVINGSTON COUNTY... AT 225 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING INTO WESTERN LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEAR LETCHWORTH STATE PARK. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. YOU SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANIED BY BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...GUSTY WINDS...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. SCHWIBS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Buffalo, NY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 3:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Genesee | 23 min |
| Aug 5, 5:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Cattaraugus | 110 min |
| Aug 5, 6:00 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Chautauqua | 90 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988
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.