Alert archive / New York / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Buffalo, NY

May 23, 2011Chautauqua County, New York

NWS Buffalo, NY issued this tornado warning at May 23, 2011, 8:54 PM EDT for Chautauqua County, New York. It was in force for 36 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 23, 2011, 8:54 PM EDT (00:54 UTC)
Expired: May 23, 2011, 9:30 PM EDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Buffalo, NY
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Chautauqua County, NY

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:57 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 23, 9:00 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Panama, NY	MULTIPLE TREES ABD POWER LINES DOWN
May 23, 9:08 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Busti, NY	MULTIPLE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 119 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: 191 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1252 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 172 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 226 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

919 
WFUS51 KBUF 240054
TORBUF
NYC013-240130-
/O.NEW.KBUF.TO.W.0002.110524T0054Z-110524T0130Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
854 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BUFFALO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF JAMESTOWN...

* UNTIL 930 PM EDT

* AT 852 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR CLYMER...OR
  23 MILES WEST OF JAMESTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
   6 MILES SOUTH OF JAMESTOWN WEST...
   CLYMER...
   PANAMA...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GOLF 
BALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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.

&&

LAT...LON 4209 7977 4212 7918 4199 7918 4200 7977
TIME...MOT...LOC 0054Z 269DEG 28KT 4200 7964

$$

HIBBERT

2 follow-up statements

188 
WWUS51 KBUF 240108
SVSBUF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
908 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

NYC013-240130-
/O.CON.KBUF.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-110524T0130Z/
CHAUTAUQUA NY-
908 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 930 PM EDT FOR SOUTHERN
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY...

AT 902 PM EDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION INDICATING THE STRONG 
POSSIBILITY OF A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR PANAMA...OR 
12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

THE TORNADO SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
  JAMESTOWN WEST...
  PANAMA...
  FREWSBURG...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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.

&&

LAT...LON 4209 7977 4212 7918 4199 7918 4200 7977
TIME...MOT...LOC 0107Z 271DEG 34KT 4202 7939

$$

HIBBERT

180 
WWUS51 KBUF 240127
SVSBUF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
927 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

NYC013-240136-
/O.EXP.KBUF.TO.W.0002.000000T0000Z-110524T0130Z/
CHAUTAUQUA NY-
927 PM EDT MON MAY 23 2011

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT
930 PM EDT...

AT 926 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THAT THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WITH THE POSSIBLE TORNADO HAD WEAKENED AND NO LONGER
APPEARED CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES OR OTHER SEVERE 
WEATHER...THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. ADDITIONAL 
SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING IF STORMS REDEVELOP ACROSS 
THE AREA.

LAT...LON 4209 7977 4212 7918 4199 7918 4200 7977
TIME...MOT...LOC 0126Z 271DEG 34KT 4203 7914

$$

HIBBERT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 23, 8:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Chautauqua	37 min
May 23, 8:45 PM EDT	Special Marine Warning	BUF		30 min
May 23, 9:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Erie	17 min
May 23, 9:24 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BUF	Chautauqua	3 hr
May 23, 9:59 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BUF	Cattaraugus, Chautauqua	3 hr
May 23, 10:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Allegany, Cattaraugus	25 min
May 23, 10:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Allegany, Cattaraugus	45 min
May 23, 10:56 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BUF	Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming	3 hr
May 23, 11:09 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	BUF	Allegany, Cattaraugus, Wyoming	3 hr
May 23, 11:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BUF	Allegany	17 min
May 24, 9:27 AM EDT	Small Craft Advisory	BUF		4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in New York, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes in 2011

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.