JAMESTOWN – It was a very busy afternoon in the First Defense Weather Center as thunderstorms blossomed across the Southern Tier Tuesday afternoon, becoming severe as they worked through the region.
The nastiest weather appears to have occurred in Cattaraugus County, where a Tornado Warning was valid for a period of time Tuesday evening. A velocity couplet (an area of rotation within a severe thunderstorm) on Doppler radar northeast of South Valley caught the eye of the National Weather Service in Buffalo, to which they issued the warning at 7:10 PM, upgrading a Severe Thunderstorm Warning that was previously in effect.
The rotation become stronger and more well-defined on radar as the couplet traveled towards the Northeast near the City of Salamanca. The couplet later passed through Salamanca and started weakening. The Tornado Warning was allowed to expire at 7:45 PM with no reissuance from the NWS.
Another couplet sprung to life behind the main circulation west of South Valley, although that signature was very broad in nature and wasn’t very impressive. However, that did warrant the reissueance of the Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Cattaraugus County, which was later cancelled at 9:00 PM.
Reports of a tornado that was down near Quaker Lake within Allegany State Park have been making rounds on social media, but those reports are unconfirmed at this point, as we have yet to receive visual conformation and the source of the initial report is unknown.
The National Weather Service will likely send out survey teams to Cattaraugus County tomorrow morning to survey the damage and determine if indeed a tornado did touch down.
