Waterspout — Upper Niagara River, Lake Erie

2024-08-05 · near Buffalo Harbor, Upper Niagara River, Lake Erie

Event narrative

National Weather Service storm survey confirms that a waterspout/tornado developed near the shore of the Niagara River.

Wider weather episode

A cold front slowly dropping south across Lake Ontario stalled near/along the south shore of Lake Ontario. As the front approached the Western New York area, shear and instability increased. The front stalled a bit farther north than expected, causing more of the thunderstorm activity to develop over/near the Niagara Frontier. Thunderstorm activity also occurred over both Lakes Erie & Ontario.

A tornado began at the shore of the Niagara River and tracked from near the south end of LaSalle Park into downtown Buffalo for approximately 1.4 miles. The tornado developed within a thunderstorm along converging lake boundaries from both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.8895, -78.8946)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1211631. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.