If you’ve been thinking the amount of tornados seen in Western New York this year is unusual, you would be correct. Monday’s tornado in Buffalo set a new record for the state as a whole. The tornado, which caused damage to Niagara Street, was the 26th tornado in New York this year. National Weather Service Buffalo Meteorologist David Thomas said it caught people off guard because it was much skinnier than an average tornado and couldn’t be picked up by radar.
“While we are watching the radar here and issuing the warnings, the tornado just the size of it wasn't on the scope, as far as being able to be detected by the radar. Typically, tornadoes coming out of thunderstorms are much wider, and we can see them forming and developing there on the radar. This one was much skinnier and wasn't able to be detected there by the radar.”
Thomas says that winds from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined with airflow from the northwest, causing the tornado to quickly develop. The previous annual record was 25 tornados set in 1992.
