Hail — Niagara, New York

2021-07-20 · near South Lockport, Niagara, New York

Wider weather episode

A cold front dropped from north to south across the area. Unstable conditions were evident ahead of this, with about 2000 J/kg CAPE developing by late afternoon. Moderate mid-level shear was present with a shortwave just ahead of the front. Storms developed ahead of this frontal boundary around 3 PM and along a lake breeze boundary in Niagara County. Impressive cores aloft were quickly evident as they developed. These cells kept redeveloping back to the west, with several impressive cores aloft prompting multiple warnings. These produced numerous reports of large hail, including tennis ball sized hail Storms also trained along the boundary, producing heavy rainfall in the same location. This produced significant flash flooding in Lockport and surrounding areas. Otherwise, a line closer to the front moved across southern Ontario and across Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River into the eastern Lake Ontario region. These storms mainly produced wind damage more than hail. Lingering more marginal storms across western New York just ahead the front caused some wind damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.1600, -78.7000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 976785. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.