Flash Flood, Erie
- When
- February 20, 11:30 PM EST
- Where
- Erie County, West Seneca
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New York, February 20, 1996
Ice jams again developed, though not as serious as earlier this year, along the Buffalo Creek in West Seneca. Although the creek rose above flood stage, the damage was confined to a few basements.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BUF wrote it up.
Ice jams again developed, though not as serious as earlier this year, along the Buffalo Creek in West Seneca. Although the creek rose above flood stage, the damage was confined to a few basements.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 20 to 21, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, February 20 to 23, 1996
- Dense Fog in Indiana, February 20, 1996
- Strong Wind in Arizona, February 20, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 20 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 20 to 22, 1996
- High Wind in Oregon, February 20 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 20 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Rain in California, February 20, 1996
- Waterspout in Puerto Rico, February 20, 1996
- High Wind in California, February 20 to 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, February 20, 1996
More
Every storm in New York in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5548293.