Flash Flood, Chautauqua
- When
- November 2, 8:45 PM EST to November 3, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Chautauqua County, Dunkirk
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in New York, November 2 to 3, 1999
An intense storm moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico across Western New York during the afternoon and evening hours focusing on the lower Cattaraugus Creek and Buffalo metro area. Record rainfall occurred at the Buffalo Airport with some areas receiving over three inches of rain in a few short hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- $900,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
An intense storm moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico across Western New York during the afternoon and evening hours focusing on the lower Cattaraugus Creek and Buffalo metro area. Record rainfall occurred at the Buffalo Airport with some areas receiving over three inches of rain in a few short hours. The flooding caused the evacuation of hundreds in Niagara County. The flooding in Tonawanda resulted in the early closure of two polling places. Roads, viaducts and parking lots were covered with over a foot of water and made impassable. Storm sewers were unable to handle the water and problems were accercerbated by leaves clogging storm sewers.
The radar
The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:46 UTC.
Event by event
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Niagara
- When
- November 2, 9:00 PM EST to November 3, 2:00 AM EST
- Where
- Niagara County, Niagara Falls
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.173, -78.691 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Erie
- When
- November 2, 9:00 PM EST to November 3, 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Erie County, Tonawanda
- Property damage
- $300,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- 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
- High Wind in New York, November 2, 1999
- Cold in Michigan, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, November 2 to 3, 1999
- High Wind in New York, November 2 to 3, 1999
- High Wind in Alabama, November 2, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in New York, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in Georgia, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in Arkansas, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in Vermont, November 2 to 3, 1999
- High Wind in New Jersey, November 2, 1999
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, November 2, 1999
More
Every storm in New York in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, November 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5723013, 5723014, 5723015.