Alert archive / New York / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Buffalo, NY

August 20, 2009Allegany County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this tornado warning at Aug 20, 2009, 10:25 PM EDT for Allegany County, New York. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 20, 2009, 10:25 PM EDT (02:25 UTC)
Expired: Aug 20, 2009, 11:00 PM EDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Buffalo, NY
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Allegany County, NY

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:26 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 20, 6:54 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 105 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 828 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1273 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 232 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 306 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 6.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS51 KBUF 210225
TORBUF
NYC003-210300-
/O.NEW.KBUF.TO.W.0007.090821T0225Z-090821T0300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1025 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL ALLEGANY COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...

* UNTIL 1100 PM EDT

* AT 1023 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 14 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF ALFRED...OR 3 MILES WEST OF WELLSVILLE...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ALFRED BY 1050 PM EDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM EDT FRIDAY
MORNING FOR WESTERN NEW YORK.

&&

LAT...LON 4215 7804 4233 7781 4223 7772 4218 7773
      4212 7800
TIME...MOT...LOC 0225Z 229DEG 28KT 4215 7799

$$

ZAFF

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS51 KBUF 210247
SVSBUF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1047 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009

NYC003-210300-
/O.CON.KBUF.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-090821T0300Z/
ALLEGANY NY-
1047 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT FOR EAST
CENTRAL ALLEGANY COUNTY...

AT 1046 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION. THIS STORM WAS 
LOCATED NEAR ALFRED...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ALFRED BY 1046 PM EDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT 
TONIGHT FOR WESTERN NEW YORK.

&&

LAT...LON 4218 7773 4216 7784 4227 7789 4233 7781
      4223 7772
TIME...MOT...LOC 0246Z 231DEG 28KT 4225 7780

$$

HITCHCOCK

000 
WWUS51 KBUF 210256
SVSBUF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
1056 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009

NYC003-210306-
/O.EXP.KBUF.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-090821T0300Z/
ALLEGANY NY-
1056 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL ALLEGANY COUNTY WILL EXPIRE
AT 1100 PM EDT...

AT 1056 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THAT THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING HAD EXITED THE WARNED AREA...
THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT 
TONIGHT FOR WESTERN NEW YORK.

LAT...LON 4218 7773 4216 7784 4227 7789 4233 7781
      4223 7772
TIME...MOT...LOC 0256Z 231DEG 28KT 4230 7772

$$

HITCHCOCK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 20, 8:31 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BUF		44 min
Aug 20, 8:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Orleans	59 min
Aug 20, 8:52 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BUF	Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara and 2 more	3 hr
Aug 20, 8:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Cattaraugus, Chautauqua	61 min
Aug 20, 9:16 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BUF		89 min
Aug 20, 9:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Allegany, Cattaraugus	53 min
Aug 20, 10:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Genesee, Monroe, Orleans	56 min
Aug 20, 10:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Allegany	54 min
Aug 20, 10:19 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BUF		86 min
Aug 20, 11:28 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BUF		92 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New York, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes in 2009

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.