Tornado touch-downs in Western New York as Beryl remnants pass through region

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Police confirmed on Wednesday with WBEN a tornado touched down in the Arkwright area of Chautauqua County and in Eden in Erie County.

"A tornado definitely touched down," Trooper James O'Callahan told WBEN Wednesday afternoon during LIVE coverage of the weather situation. "We have Chautauqua County and Erie County affected."

Later on Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed the touch-down of both tornados.

The first tornado in Chautauqua County was rated an EF-1 (with estimated peak winds of 110 mph) that cut a three-mile path through Arkwright and into the Town of Hanover before dissipating. However, that same storm cell later produced an EF-0 rated tornado (estimated peak winds of 85 mph) that cut nearly a one-mile swath through Eden.

The Town of Eden was under a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon after the tornado touched down there and left a swatch of damage.

Then on Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed two more tornados to touch down across the region.

The same storm that swept through the Town of Eden also dropped a third confirmed tornado in the Town of Aurora, registering an EF-1 rating with estimated peak winds of 110 mph. It stretched a 1.5-mile span starting near West Falls before dissipating near Griffins Mills.

A fourth touch-down of a tornado was recorded in the Town of Darien in Genesee County. This EF-0 tornado cut a one-mile path from Darien into the Town of Alexander before dissipating, reaching estimated peak winds of 75 mph.

"We've received numerous reports," Orchard Park Police Chief Fitzgerald tells WBEN of calls about possible tornado touch-downs in the town.

Fitzgerald says, based on the damage, he does not believe there will be any confirmed touch-downs in the town.

The remnants of Beryl crashed through the Buffalo-Niagara region Wednesday afternoon with tornado watches and warnings impacting much of central Erie County and the southern tier for a time.

Tree damage is widespread across the impacted areas and thousands were without power by mid-afternoon as a result of the fast-moving storms.

Check Power Outages
NYSEG
National Grid

A Tornado Watch remained in play for much of the afternoon, with the advisory eventually lifting for all of Western New York on Wednesday evening.

"It's going to be a pretty active day here in Western New York," National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Mitchell tells WBEN. "We're going to see those waves of rain increase ... with some heavy rain possible, especially across the Niagara Frontier into the afternoon."

Tornado watches and warnings were posted for much of the western southern tier midday Wednesday as storms popped-up along the Lake Erie shoreline.

Rainfall across the region will be significant as the remnants of the massive storm move through the region Wednesday. "From Buffalo northward, it looks like the 1 1/2 to 2 inch range," Mitchell says. "To the south of that we're going to have less widespread rain, but we're going to have heavy thunderstorms." Some localized flash flooding is possible.

Outside of the widespread rain, the best chance for severe weather will be south and southeast of the city, Mitchell tells us. "The greatest threat will be damaging winds, with an isolated tornado threat with the best chance for that south and southeast of the city."

Additional chances for showers and a few thunderstorms will continue through Thursday, before high pressure brings improving conditions by the end of the week.

Friday and the first half of the coming weekend look dry, with humid conditions persisting.