weather

Strong winds and cloud-to-ground lightening is expected to pound Genesee County from now until 11 p.m.

The National Weather Services advises people to move inside to avoid being struck by lightning.

Winds up to 60 m.p.h. are expected.

There is a severe thunderstorm watch taking effect at 7:23 p.m. for Western New York, and it will be in effect until 2 a.m.

There's a light haze hanging over Batavia. It reminds me of smog, which I've seen plenty of in San Diego, Los Angeles and Bakersfield -- a place with the distinction of having the worst air quality in the nation.

There is an air quality alert here in effect until 10 p.m. today, issued by the New State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The air-quality index is at 125.

According to Wikipedia, when the API is between 100 and 200: "People with existing heart or respiratory illnesses may notice mild aggravation of their health conditions. Generally healthy individuals may also notice some discomfort."

The Department of Health recommends limiting strenuous outdoor activity. People, especially the very young or those with asthma or heart disease, should consult with a physician immediately if any adverse symptoms arise.

Heavy rain showers and thunderstorms could develop over Genesee County this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The rain, after the big storm of last night, could lead to flash floods in low-lying areas as well as creeks and streams.

The flash flood watch is in effect until late tonight.

Should the danger of flash flood be detected, people should seek higher ground.

Last night. Allison Watson said in the midst of a wind, rain and lightning storm she heard a boom and then the front of her house filled with brown smoke.  When she walked to the side of her house, she wasn't surprised at what she found.

Part of a giant tree in her neighbor's yard had fallen into her home at 14 Warren St.

"I called it," Watson said. "I knew it was going to fall on my house. It was only a matter of time."

Watson said she believes the tree was diseased.

Watson, a 15-year-resident of Warren Street, said it's the second time a branch fell on her property. The first time was a couple of years ago during an ice storm and the branch destroyed her garage.

This time, her car was damaged, but she doesn't know how extensively.

Work crews were on their way this morning to remove the debris.

There were no injuries, Watson said, not even to her pet bird, whose feathers were a little ruffled when its cage was damaged, but is otherwise OK.

At this hour, National Grid reported about 410 homes are without power in Genesee County.

The areas most widely struck:

• Town of Batavia: 260
• Town of Bergen: 25
• Town of Pavilion: 53
• Town of Stafford: 56

There is no ETA  listed for power to be restored in those locations.

UPDATE: Most of this power -- all except Bergen -- has been restored.

Today is supposed to be one of the warmest days of the summer (not a difficult claim to make).   I guess if we hang in there, the weekend is supposed to be clear, rain free and in the 80s.

A severe thunderstorm capable of producing quarter-size hail is on its way to Batavia, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm is entering Genesee County at Darien now and is expected to reach Batavia around 2:25 p.m.

The warning is effect until 2:30 p.m.

Thankfully, says Corfu resident Mickey Zanghi, she and all her neighbors are safe.  When she looked out her window Saturday evening and saw a tornado bearing down on her neighborhood, she could hardly believe her eyes.

"All I said was, 'Oh my God, there is a 'ummm' tornado," Zanghi said (pictured, lower left), "and that was it. That's all you can think was to think of your family first and take cover."

The storm struck Darien first, then tore through Corfu just a little before 5 p.m., and only minutes after the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch that speculated about the possibility of a tornado forming in Genesee County.

No injuries were reported as a result of the short, intense storm.

The storm first touched down in Corfu at a business residents there call the Greenhouse, which is near the Pizza Pantry.

Louie Reeb was standing with some fellow members of his work crew at the Pizza Pantry and commenting on how nice it looked outside and the rain had apparently abated, but then the winds hit.

"We noticed how bright it had gotten," Reeb said. "The rain had stopped and the sun had come out so we were standing at the window and all the sudden the wind started picking up and you could see the debris flying along with it, so we just all scattered to get away from the windows. It was kind of weird. It looked so beautiful and then a minute later it had hit the house up the street and all the debris was just flying through the air."

The Pizza Pantry was unscathed in the storm, but the nearby Greenhouse was leveled.

At the town bar on Main Street, patrons were enjoying each others' company and beers on the porch when the weather suddenly turned ugly.

"We heard this huge roar, everything was swirling around, winds were blowing like crazy for about 15, 20 seconds, it rained like crazy and that as it," said Terry Paine.

In just a few short minutes, according to area officials, a rare event for Western New York -- a tornado -- ripped through Darien and Corfu, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and and damaging homes and businesses.

"We thought it was a loud train going by, so we thought maybe it was a crash with a train, and we looked out our window and there was the tornado smack dab in front of us," Zanghi said. "There was a lot of destruction."

About 20 to 25 homes in Corfu, and another dozen in Darien, were damaged, according to officials. Most of the damage was mild to moderate, mostly caused by flying debris. Two homes in Corfu suffered more serious damage, but no homes were destroyed.

A trampoline came to rest on the roof of her house, Zanghi said.

There were some outbuildings and barns that were destroyed, officials said.

"It's very concerning that you want to make sure that none of your fellow friends or your family are involved or hurt, but the major portion of that was taken care of quickly," said Corfu Fire Chief Brian McMartin, who watched the tornado as it left Corfu from his back yard. "We did a rapid response, we did some initial assessment and that went pretty well."

Judy Levan, of the National Weather Service, described the tornado as a category 1 event (the most severe tornado is a 5) with winds up to 100 m.p.h. and a four-mile-long path about 100 yards wide.

"Those are preliminary numbers and we will be doing a fly-over tomorrow morning and we'll be able to firm up exactly what the damage path was," said Levan.

The last tornado to hit Genesee County struck in 1993 and claimed the life of a truck driver, Levan said. Paine said he remembered another tornado passing through Corfu some 20 years ago.

Previously:

• Tornado hits Corfu, power lines down, Route 33 closed
• No injuries reported after tornado touches down in Corfu
• Corfu tornado videos submitted to YouTube
• Thunderstorm watch issued, nickle-sized hail expected
• Corfu tornado: Power lines down, buildings damaged, no injuries

Video below is of the press conference later Saturday evening.  My camera is not working right, so I missed most of Tim Yaeger's opening remarks, but everything else came out OK.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.:

We just received the links to the two tornado videos below shot by Cory Coles. They were shot with his cellphone.

Pictures submitted by Greg Crawford, a resident of Corfu.

Jay Terkel sends along this e-mail:

I was not home when the storm went past the house, but here are some pictures taken after it went . My wife said it sounded like a train coming through. The main damage was to houses to the east of us, Basically, it looks like the "tornado" came through damaging the trees in homes on the east side of Thompson Drive (we live at the west corner of Thompson and Main St.) the two homes on Main Street and the flower shop. Most of the damage is just trees, poles, wires, and windows, except a couple of sheds  at the flower shop and one house.

Jay took this picture:

 Audio:

• Corfu resident talks about seeing tornado and damage to her street

Above, a photo I took of the press conference late this evening.

Previous:

• Tornado hits Corfu, power lines down, Route 33 closed
• No injuries reported after tornado touches down in Corfu
• Corfu tornado videos submitted to YouTube
• Thunderstorm watch issued, nickle-sized hail expected

Below are the three Corfu torando-related videos that have appeared on YouTube so far.

Ritchie Kirkum submitted this photo, which he shot (he received as a SMS message) in East Pembroke.

UPDATE: Picture submitted by Ian Cromwell

A funnel cloud, or tornado touched down in Corfu just before 5 p.m. knocking down about 15 power polls and numerous trees.

There is some building damage, but no serious damage has been reported so far.

No injuries have been reported.

The tornado was tracked by the National Weather Service heading toward Oakfield and was expected to reach there at 5:20 p.m.

The tornado has apparently not touched down elsewhere in Genesee County by 5:35 p.m. and was moving into Orleans County (if it still exists).

There has been the smell of natural gas in the village and work crews are being dispatched to shut down utilities, with an ETA of 25 to 60 minutes.

Portions of routes 33 and 77 have been shut down.

Initial Report.

UPDATE 5:44 p.m.: Tornado warning has been cancelled.

UPDATE: Audio interviews with witnesses, unedited:

• Interview one
• Interview two
• Interview three

UPDATE: Audio interview with the Corfu Fire Chief.

UPDATE: photo submission by a reader who asked to remain anonymous

Heather Wooton submitted this photo from her backyard in Holley.

UPDATE: 10:13 p.m.  Finally back from the scene, had some dinner ... my battery died out in Corfu, so I'll be doing some more updates now.

Submitted by Beverly Hensel.

A reader submitted this photo. I've seen it on the cellphones of multiple people. It may be the most widely distributed cellphone picture of the twister. TV news crews at the scene were complaining that they couldn't use it because nobody knows who took it. We here at The Batavian are quite confident it hasn't been doctored in PhotoShop. That just seems highly unlikely, so no concern about sharing it with you.

Reports of a tornado hitting Corfu are coming in -- several power lines down along Route 33, and the road is being closed from the fire hall to Route 77.

There are numerous 911 calls coming into the dispatch center.

Trees have also been knocked down.

The tornado is moving east.

UPDATE: Eastbound Route 33 is closed and southbound Route 77 is reported completely impassable.

A funnel cloud has been spotted moving toward East Pembroke. 

Route 77 at Route 20 is being closed in both directions.

There are reports of damaged homes and cars, but no injuries reported. (UPDATE: We're also hearing now houses in the village damaged, but fire crews are shutting off utilities.)

UPDATE: The National Weather Service has just issued a tornado watch:

* TORNADO WARNING FOR... GENESEE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BATAVIA... WEST CENTRAL MONROE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... SOUTHEASTERN ORLEANS COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...
* UNTIL 545 PM EDT
* AT 503 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OAKFIELD...OR 9 MILES WEST OF BATAVIA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... OAKFIELD BY 520 PM EDT... BYRON BY 545 PM EDT...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT SATURDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN NEW YORK.

UPDATE 5:20 p.m. : No reports of the tornado touching down else where; it has been spotted from the Thruway.  At a location in Corfu there is the smell of natural gas. Emergency crews report that so far they've found "everybody OK."

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m.: Smell of gas at the flower shop. Also, tree limbs spotted on train tracks in the area.

Northern Genesee County is about to get hit with a severe thunderstorm capable of producing nickel-sized hail, according to the National Weather Service office in Buffalo.

Winds could exceed 60 m.p.h.  There is a weak rotation area in the storm that could develop into a tornado, the weather service warned.

At 4:45 p.m., the storm was in the area of Alabama, 9 miles south of Medina and moving northeast at 25 m.p.h.

"If a tornado is spotted," the Weather Service statement says, "act quickly and move to a place of safety in a sturdy structure, such as a basement or small interior room.

The severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 9 p.m. for all of Western New York.

A severe thunderstorm warning for Genesee County has been issued until 6 p.m. by the National Weather Service.

Large hail, heavy rain, damaging wind and lightning are expected. Stormy conditions could continue, with a 60 percent chance of rain expected tomorrow.

A person reportedly suffered only a minor injury after being struck by lightening outside of Wal-Mart in Batavia at about 11:30 a.m.

At this time, no further information is available.

There is a flash flood watch in place until 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service warns that after several days of rain and anticipated slow-moving, thunderstorms producing heavy downpours, "it will not take much rain to produce flooding."

The weather service says flooding is a possibility along rivers, creeks and drainage culverts as well as low-laying roadways.