Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 24, NWS Buffalo, NY
NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 1988, 9:40 AM EDT for Erie County, New York. It was in force for 50 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 17, 1988, 9:40 AM EDT (13:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 17, 1988, 10:30 AM EDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Buffalo, NY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Erie 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 17, 10:00 AM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Erie, 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, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 20 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
- 21 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -241 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1168 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 65 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 121 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 171342 COR SVRBUF NYC029-171430- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED...CORRECTION TIME SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 940 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1040 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES WESTERN NEW YORK...ERIE AT 940 AM A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS WAS MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN ERIE COUNTY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 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. PACE
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 17, 4:36 AM EDT, 5 hours 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 435 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK FROM 5AM TIL 11AM EDT... AT 430 PM...AN AREA OF OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COVERED MUCH OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO EXTENDING FROM HAMILTON NORTH TO GEORGIAN BAY. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF TORONTO. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEvAST AT 50 MPH. LEVAN
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 4:39 AM EDT, 5 hours 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 435 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK FROM 5AM TIL 11AM EDT... AT 430 AM...AN AREA OF OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COVERED MUCH OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO EXTENDING FROM HAMILTON NORTH TO GEORGIAN BAY. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF TORONTO. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOwUTHEAST AT 50 MPH. LEVAN
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 5:29 AM EDT, 4 hours 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 535 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK TIL 11AM EDT... AT 530 AM...AN AREA OF OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM GEORGIAN BAY ACROSS SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND THE WESTERN END OF LAKE ONTARIO TO THE NIAGARA PENINSULA. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED OVER THE PENINSULA NEAR PORT COLBORNE. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH. LEVAN
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 6:32 AM EDT, 3 hours 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 635 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK TIL 11AM EDT... AT 630 AM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE COVERED MUCH OF WESTERN NEW YORK TO THE GENESEE VALLEY. THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED OVER NORTHERN CATTARAUGUS COUNTY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS..SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN CONTINUED OVER SOUTHERN ONTARIO EXTENDING FROM HAMILTON THROUGH TORONTO TO PETERBOROUGH. THE SHOWERS ALSO COVERED CENTRAL LAKE ONTARIO. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH. LEVAN
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 7:36 AM EDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 735 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK TIL 11AM EDT... AT 73
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 8:51 AM EDT, 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 840 AM EDT WED AUG 17 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NEW YORK TIL 11AM EDT... AT 830 AM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED OVER WESTERN NEW YORK BETWEEN GENESEO AND SYRACUSE. A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WAS 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PALMYRA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED OVER ONTARIO BETWEEN LONDON AND KINGSTON COVERING MOST OF LAKE ONTARIO. VERY HEAVY STORMS WERE SCATTERED FROM 40 MILES WEST OF TORONTO TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF OSHAWA AND NUMEROUS HEAVY STORMS WERE OVER LAKE ONTARIO. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE ALSO SCATTERED OVER NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA BETWEEN BRADFORRD AND WILLIAMSPORT. THE PRECIPITATION WAS MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR. SOME OF THESE STORMS CONTAIN FREQUENT LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN...AND POSSIBLY HAIL. CHT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Buffalo, NY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 8:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Niagara, Orleans | 95 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.