EF1 tornado in Cattaraugus County, New York

The National Weather Service in Buffalo investigated storm-related damage from a rotating thunderstorm that affected the area around Great Valley in Cattaraugus County on June 9. During the event, radar signatures indicated debris from the storm had

lofted into the atmosphere. This allowed for radar confirmation of a tornado. The National Weather Service storm survey team investigated the damage in the area today and confirmed damage consistent with an EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of

110 mph.

Damage from the tornado generally followed Sugartown Road and Forks Creek. The initial touchdown and first damage occurred in the area between U.S. Highway 219 and Farm Market Road and continued northeast for approximately 2.4 miles. Initial damage from the storm included some hardwood trees north of Highway 98 and some facade damage to homes immediately south of Highway 98. Additional damage near initial touchdown included the loss of the roof of a garage. As the tornado continued northeast, damage quickly became more significant. Several homes, garages, and structures near the intersection of Sugartown Road with Farm Market Road, Haines Hollow Road, and Bonnie Way either had the full loss of the structure, loss of significant

roofing material, or the loss of some of the walls in the upper portion of the structure. The more modern construction fared substantially better than the majority of the structures in this area. Additionally, trees on the entire hillside north of the intersection were entirely sheared off mid-trunk for hundreds up yards uphill from the structures.

The tornadic damage continued northeast with a clearly-defined path of damage across McGuan Road of sheared tree trunks and sporadic structural damage to a few structures along the way. Tree damage became less severe after this point with intermittent tree damage continuing along the path until the tornado dissipated near Forks Creek in the Town of Humphrey.

Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a cold front and within the warm sector of an approaching system. Favorable shear, along with forcing from the cold front helped to develop severe storms that also resulted in a confirmed tornado in the western Southern Tier. Additionally, a very moist atmosphere was present within the systems warm sector, helping to contribute to heavy rainfall with showers and thunderstorms. Some of the heavy rain that developed across the western Southern Tier, combined with antecedent conditions caused flash flooding in Allegany County.