High Wind — Monroe, New York

2017-03-08 · Monroe, New York

Wider weather episode

Unusually deep low pressure moved from northwest Ontario across Hudson Bay. The low brought strong winds to the entire region with sustained winds up to 49 mph and wind gusts as high as 81 mph. A significant amount of damage resulted with hundreds of thousands left without power'over 100,000 in Monroe County alone. Particularly hard hit was the northern Genesee Valley region including parts of Orleans, Monroe, and Genesee counties. Trees and power lines were downed. Power poles were snapped. The strong winds derailed a train in Batavia (Genesee County). Twelve out of thirty-one freight cars were blown off the tracks. In Chili, a large section of fence was impaled into the second story of a house. Numerous flights into the Buffalo and Rochester Airports had to be diverted due to the winds. This in turn resulted in cancellation of some outbound flights from those airports. Measured wind gusts included: 81 mph at Rochester Airport (Monroe County), 76 mph at Batavia (Genesee County), 75 mph at Hamburg (Erie County), 72 mph at Niagara Falls Airport (Niagara County), 70 mph at Tonawanda (Erie County), 69 mph at Fredonia (Chautauqua County) and East Aurora (Erie County), 67 mph at Brockport (Monroe County), 66 mph at Buffalo Airport (Erie County), 65 mph at Warsaw (Wyoming County), 63 mph at Dunkirk Lighthouse (Chautauqua County), Fort Drum (Jefferson County) and Medina (Orleans County), 61 mph at Oswego County Airport, Fulton (Oswego County), 60 mph at East Amherst (Erie County) and Rush (Monroe County), 59 mph at Springville (Erie County), and 58 mph at Delevan (Cattaraugus County), Brant (Erie County), York (Livingston County), and Clifton Spring (Ontario County). Measured Sustained winds included: 49 mph at Batavia (Genesee County), 47 mph at Gates (Monroe County), and 43 mph at Fredonia (Chautauqua County), Barker (Niagara County), and Warsaw (Wyoming County). The wind damage several buildings including ones in Batavia (Genesee County), Rochester Airport, Spencerport and Greece (Monroe County), Alden and East Amherst (Erie County), Barker (Niagara County) and Gowanda (Cattaraugus County). Falling trees damaged homes or automobiles in Irondequoit, Braddock Bay, Webster and Brighton (Monroe County), Lancaster, Lackawanna and Tonawanda (Erie County), Ontario (Wayne County), York and Geneseo (Livingston County), Lockport and Pendleton(Niagara County) and Lyndonville (Orleans County). Minor injuries were reported to drivers of tractor trailers overturned by the wind in Rapids, Newfane and Niagara Falls (Niagara County), Covington and Bennington (Wyoming County). Amherst (Erie County), York (Livingston County), and Alexander (Genesee County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 688750. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.