A tornado that touched down Monday in downtown Buffalo, New York, might have actually been a landfalling water spout.
The National Weather Service confirmed late Monday that an EF1 tornado brought winds of up to 90 mph to downtown Buffalo, touching down not even half a mile from City Hall, according to WIVB. Trees were damaged throughout the area and several roads were closed, though no injuries were reported, the outlet reported.
Footage shared on social media by AccuWeather shows both the tornado and the damage, which appears to be predominantly to rooftops.
WOW! What appears to be a landfalling water spout turned damaging tornado in downtown Buffalo! Again! WTF! https://t.co/UYkvUWA2e7
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerUSA) August 5, 2024
An EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 90 mph left behind a trail of damage in Buffalo, New York, on Monday.
New York State had 23 tornado reports on four days in July this year. Last year, there was 1 tornado report through the end of July. pic.twitter.com/Tv6LHv8xa1
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 6, 2024
Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer was one of the first people to post about the twister, which he said could be a landfalling water spout that turned into a tornado. “Buffalo! Again! WTF!” he said in a tweet.
Other footage shows people watching the tornado from the ground. In one particular clip, twin twisters appear to be walking across the rooftops. It’s pretty creepy, actually. Another person filmed the event from a tall building, watching two very different forms appear in separate videos. One appeared to be broad, hurling what was probably roofing. The other twister was smaller and thinner, appearing right outside the person’s window.
Tornado? in downtown Buffalo, NY #bufwx pic.twitter.com/ZEfiwmj9jp
— David Carson (@PDPJ) August 5, 2024
Tornado in Buffalo today!!
First time ever seeing one and it came right by us at work pic.twitter.com/yujSGfrKaA— m (@mxxrissa) August 5, 2024
Wow!!! Unwarned Multivortex tornado tears through downtown Buffalo #nywx pic.twitter.com/4pvxYLzLBw
— Brian 🌪 (@BrianAllenWX) August 5, 2024
BREAKING: An unwarned #tornado, compete with multiple suction vortices just caused damage in downtown #Buffalo, New York.
It formed near a stalled front and a weak wave of low pressure.
The WBIV Channel 4 tower cam captured the twister moving through the city. pic.twitter.com/7iaHjmBrCm
— Matthew Cappucci (@MatthewCappucci) August 5, 2024
Storm chaser Brian Allen claimed residents were not warned about any tornado risk in a repost of a video showing the incident. Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci echoed Allen’s claims, along with sharing video of the storm captured by the WIVB 4 tower. WIVB reported that thunderstorms were forecast for the area but that no Tornado Warning was sent out.
NWS seems to concur with Timmer’s statement, saying the tornado formed at the Niagara River’s shore, according to the outlet. It reportedly moved inland for 1.4 miles, overturning cars and ripping up trees. (RELATED: Wild Videos Show Hurricane Debby’s Landfall With The Worst Likely Still Ahead Of Us)
Several streets remained closed into Monday night as cleanup crews worked to restore power lines, the outlet reported. Thoroughfares had begun to open late Monday, according to The Buffalo Common Council. More wet weather is expected throughout the week as the remnants of Hurricane Debby make their way northwards over the Carolinas, Virginia and into New England by Sunday.
