Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1994

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 48, NWS Buffalo, NY

August 28, 1994Orleans County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 28, 1994, 12:20 PM EDT for Orleans County, New York. It was in force for 100 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 28, 1994, 12:20 PM EDT (16:20 UTC)
Expired
Aug 28, 1994, 2:00 PM EDT
In force
100 min
Issued by
NWS Buffalo, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Orleans County, NY

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 55 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 1994-08-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 498 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 1994-08-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 277 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
498 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-133 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
915 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
277 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
322 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBUF 281623 RRA
SVRBUF
NYC029-063-073-503-504-505-281800-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1220 PM EDT SUN AUG 28 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN  NEW YORK
 
   ...ERIE COUTY...NIAGARA COUNTY...ORLEANS COUNTY...INCLUDING THE UPPER
NIAGARA RIVER...BUFFALO HARBOR AND ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE ERIE AND ONTA
O 
RADAR AT 1220 PM SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN LAKE ONTARIO
AND OVER THE NIAGARA PENINSULA...FROM NORTH OF PORT DALHOUSIE SOUTH TO
NEAR WELLAND.
 
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING RAPIDLY TO THE EAST AT 50 MPH.
 
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG WINDS...POSSIBLY IN
EXCESS OF 50 KNOTS (58 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.
 
ALL MARINE INTERESTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AND SMALL BOATS TAKE
SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
 
 
LAMBERT

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 28, 11:25 AM EDT, 55 minutes before
NYZ001>008-010>014-019>021-281600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1125 AM EDT SUN AUG 28 1994

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 784 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM FOR MOST OF NEW YORK
WEST OF A LINE FROM WATERTOWN TO ELMIRA.

AT 1125 AM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED OVER SOUTHERN ONTARIO
FROM 10 MILES WEST OF TORONTO TO 20 MILES EAST OF DETROIT MICHIGAN. SOME
OF THE STORMS BETWEEN LONDON AND TORONTO WERE PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS AND
FREQUENT LIGHTNING. SHOWERS WERE OVER NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AND
WESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR AND SOME SHOULD BE
ENTERING WESTERN NIAGARA COUNTY AND NORTHWESTERN ERIE COUNTY BY 1 PM.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN AREAS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS
SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
TINGLEY
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 11:38 AM EDT, 42 minutes before
NYZ001>008-010>014-019>021-281600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1125 AM EDT SUN AUG 28 1994

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 784 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM FOR MOST OF NEW YORK
WEST OF A LINE FROM WATERTOWN TO ELMIRA.

AT 1125 AM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED OVER SOUTHERN ONTARIO
FROM 10 MILES WEST OF TORONTO TO 20 MILES EAST OF DETROIT MICHIGAN. SOME
OF THE STORMS BETWEEN LONDON AND TORONTO WERE PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS AND
FREQUENT LIGHTNING. SHOWERS WERE OVER NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AND
WESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR AND SOME SHOULD BE
ENTERING WESTERN NIAGARA COUNTY AND NORTHWESTERN ERIE COUNTY BY 1 PM.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN AREAS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS
SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
TINGLEY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 28, 12:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFErie, Niagara100 min
Aug 28, 12:48 PM EDTTornado WarningBUFErie, Niagara57 min
Aug 28, 12:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFChautauqua67 min
Aug 28, 1:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFGenesee, Wyoming61 min
Aug 28, 1:41 PM EDTTornado WarningBUFCattaraugus64 min
Aug 28, 2:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFChautauqua, Erie57 min
Aug 28, 2:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCayuga68 min
Aug 28, 3:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCattaraugus58 min
Aug 28, 3:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany, Wyoming67 min
Aug 28, 3:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany57 min
Aug 28, 4:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCattaraugus, Erie55 min
Aug 28, 4:26 PM EDTTornado WarningBUFAllegany, Wyoming49 min
Aug 28, 6:11 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFErie64 min
Aug 28, 6:34 PM EDTTornado WarningBUFErie41 min
Aug 28, 6:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFWyoming46 min
Aug 28, 7:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFCayuga56 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New York, 1994Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1994

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.