Flash Flood, Cattaraugus
- When
- August 20, 5:10 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cattaraugus County, Olean
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in New York, August 20, 1999
Thunderstorms dropped torrential rains on parts of the Niagara Frontier and Western Southern Tier. As much as three inches of rain fell in a short time, flooding roads and viaducts in Depew, Lancaster, Kenmore and Olean.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- $85,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Thunderstorms dropped torrential rains on parts of the Niagara Frontier and Western Southern Tier. As much as three inches of rain fell in a short time, flooding roads and viaducts in Depew, Lancaster, Kenmore and Olean. In Depew, a woman had to be pulled through the window of her car when it got stuck in five feet of water under a viaduct on Rte. 78. Also in Depew, the hardwood floor of the local Boys and Girls Club was damaged beyond repair when flood waters poured into the gym.
The radar
The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:10 UTC.
Event by event
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Erie
- When
- August 20, 5:40 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Erie County, Depew
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Tornado and Waterspouts in New Jersey, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 20, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 20, 1999
More
Every storm in New York in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, August 1999
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: 5713863, 5713864.