Thunderstorm Wind, Niagara
- When
- May 9, 5:50 PM EST
- Where
- Niagara County, 0.5 mi E of Newfane
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 43.280, -78.710
Trees downed.
A line of storms crossed over the Eastern Great Lakes and moved into the Niagara Frontier to Genesee Valley producing sporadic reports of damaging winds.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BUF wrote it up.
A line of storms crossed over the Eastern Great Lakes and moved into the Niagara Frontier to Genesee Valley producing sporadic reports of damaging winds.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 9, 12:56 PM EST, 4 hours 54 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Buffalo NY 156 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Marginal Risk for Severe Weather expanded eastward into the Finger Lakes. && .KEY MESSAGES... 1) Showers return this afternoon and evening with a few storms that may be capable of producing gusty winds and hail. 2) Cool but relatively dry weather Sunday through Tuesday with frost potential Sunday and Monday night. 3) Unsettled weather returns by the middle of next week with periods of rain Wednesday through Thursday. && .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGE 1...Showers return this afternoon and evening with a few storms that may be capable of producing gusty winds and hail. A surface low centered over the UP, will continue to progress northeast into Ontario this afternoon, dragging its attendant cold front across Michigan and eventually into New York State tonight. Ahead of the cold front, there is a line of showers and embedded thunderstorms currently crossing Michigan State, where this line of activity will spread across New York State this afternoon. While it has taken most of the morning to begin to clear out across western New York, from the initial passing shortwave trough and low clouds cover, the few hours of clear skies during peak diurnal heating will allow for mid-level lapse rates to steepen enough to support a fair amount of instability (SBCAPE values of around 500 J/kg). This combined with around 30 knots of bulk shear should support any strong storms to become severe, and produce gusty winds and some hail. As this line of storms enters the Finger Lakes region and encounters a less favorable environment, due to the limited time of sunshine today from the abundance of cloud cover the line of storms will quickly weaken. This all being said, SPC has expanded the Marginal Risk for Severe Weather eastward into the Finger Lakes. KEY MESSAGE 2...Cool but relatively dry weather Sunday through Tuesday with frost potential Monday night. A longwave troughing pattern will remain overhead across the Great Lakes and into New England Sunday through Tuesday supporting a cool airmass to linger across the region, resulting in daily high temperatures to average around 10 degrees below average through the start of the week. Clear skies and light winds each night (Sunday and Monday) will support radiational cooling and result in temperatures to plummet into the 30s supporting the threat for frost and freeze conditions. Frost will likely form away from the lakeshores, with freeze conditions possible in the colder Southern Tier valleys and across Lewis County. Please note the remainder of the forecast area enters their growing seasons on May 11th. KEY MESSAGE 3...Unsettled weather returns by the middle of next week with periods of rain Wednesday through Thursday. A potent shortwave trough will dive and rotate through the longwave trough by Wednesday, likely evolving into a mid-level closed low settling in across the Great Lakes by the middle of the week. This being said, chances for rain will increase from west to east late Tuesday night through Wednesday as this system nears. Chances for precipitation will continue into the end of the week as the trough and closed low slowly departs east. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Quiet conditions begin the 18Z TAF period, but a cold front with storms upon it will be bearing down on our region. Instability is marginal, though will include thunder within a PROB30 for a 3 to 4 hour period for the western 4 TAF sites as several broken line segments of convection are expected to reach far WNY around 23Z, and propagate eastward. Flight conditions are expected to lower to IFR/MVFR in heavier convection. A later arrival and limited instability, will likely taper off any thunder by time the line of convection reaches KART. Any thunderstorm may bring locally higher wind gusts to the airfields this evening. Behind the line of storms, and with a shortwave passage, light showers, generally with VFR visibilities, but MVFR ceiling heights will pass across our region through the mid-overnight hours. All together these showers will exit east of KART by 12Z. Behind the cold front winds will veer to west to northwest late tonight...though within a light surface pressure gradient field lake breeze circulations will develop late in the period with SW winds northeast of the Lakes. By the final hours of the TAF cycle a fairly substantial amount of cumulus clouds are expected to be bubbling up...with skies SCT - BKN...but VFR. Outlook... Sunday afternoon through Tuesday...Mainly VFR. Wednesday...MVFR/IFR with showers and a few thunderstorms. Thursday...IFR/MVFR improving to MVFR/VFR with showers ending through the day. && .MARINE... South to southwest flow will continue to strengthen this afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front, resulting in choppy conditions on the lakes this evening. Additionally, with the passing of the cold front, expect a line of showers with embedded thunderstorms to start to cross the lakes at 21Z into the evening hours. The cold front will work from west to east tonight supporting continued choppy conditions through Sunday, with potential for low end small craft advisory levels on the east end of Lake Ontario Sunday afternoon. && .BUF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NY...None. MARINE...None. && DISCUSSION...EAJ AVIATION...Thomas MARINE...EAJ
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Buffalo NY 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 NYZ005>008-102145- Northern Cayuga-Oswego-Jefferson-Lewis- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central New York. .DAY ONE...Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf LEZ040-041-102145- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Ripley to Dunkirk- Lake Erie nearshore waters from Dunkirk to Buffalo- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 195 IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Lake Erie. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf LOZ030-043>045-063>065-SLZ022-024-102145- Lower Niagara River- Lake Ontario nearshore waters from Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay- Lake Ontario nearshore waters from Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay- Lake Ontario nearshore waters from Mexico Bay to the Saint Lawrence River-Lake Ontario open waters from Hamlin Beach to Sodus Bay- Lake Ontario open waters from Sodus Bay to Mexico Bay- Lake Ontario open waters from Mexico Bay to the Saint Lawrence River- Saint Lawrence River from Cape Vincent to Ogdensburg- Saint Lawrence River from Ogdensburg to Saint Regis- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Lake Ontario and Saint Lawrence River. .DAY ONE...Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf LEZ020-LOZ042-062-102145- Upper Niagara River and Buffalo Harbor- Lake Ontario nearshore waters from the Niagara River to Hamlin Beach- Lake Ontario open waters from the Niagara River to Hamlin Beach- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 195 IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf NYZ004-014-021-102145- Wayne-Ontario-Allegany- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western New York. .DAY ONE...Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf NYZ001>003-010>013-019-020-085-102145- Niagara-Orleans-Monroe-Northern Erie-Genesee-Wyoming-Livingston- Chautauqua-Cattaraugus-Southern Erie- 544 PM EDT Sat May 9 2026 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 195 IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western New York. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. This product, along with other watches, warnings, advisories, and statements issued by the National Weather Service office in Buffalo can be found on the internet at http://www.weather.gov/buf
The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:49 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees downed.
Tree downed on Fisher Road.
Tree was downed.
Several reports of trees and wires down in Batavia.
Trees and wires downed in Byron.
Tree was downed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, May 2026
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: 1342798, 1342800, 1342801, 1342802, 1342803, 1342804.