By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – An early morning thunderstorm, accompanied by strong gusty winds, swept through the Buffalo area during the 5:00 hour Thursday morning.
A peak gust of 67 miles per hour was recorded at the airport weather station at the height of the storm. The strong winds brought down tree limbs and power lines.
Niagara Mohawk reported 16,000 customers lost power while New York State Electric and Gas was working on restoring power to 8,000 of its customers. Most should see their power back on by this afternoon.
The power outages forced the Gowanda Central and Pine Valley Central districts to close for the day.
The winds were forecast to subside Thursday afternoon. The wind advisory has expired.