Waterspout · Lake Erie

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

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.