Waterspout — Upper Niagara River, Lake Erie

2018-07-28 · near Buffalo Harbor, Upper Niagara River, Lake Erie

Event narrative

A picture of a waterspout was posted on the Facebook page located off of Portland, NY, with a time of 7:15 AM local.

Wider weather episode

A broad closed low located just south of James Bay brought conditions reminiscent of fall across the Lower Great Lakes. The lake to 850 mb temperature difference was about 12C, while thermal profiles showed lake induced equilibrium level heights around 30kft. A weak secondary cold front crossed Lake Erie, constructively working with the land breeze boundary to enhance surface convergence. A lone shower developed along the land breeze boundary just off shore of Portland, NY, around 7 AM. This shower spawned a waterspout.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.4251, -79.4643)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 776546. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.