A small tornado struck downtown Buffalo without warning on Monday afternoon during a violent storm that ripped the roof off a building, flipped cars and knocked down trees and power lines.
Video clips posted on social media showed debris swirling in the air and a slender funnel cloud briefly touching a street.
Tornado in Downtown Buffalo @weatherchannel @ScienceChannel @WGRZ @WGRZTraffic pic.twitter.com/wJNf6FynPs
— itsgrace (@GraceAndHobbes) August 5, 2024
WIVB-TV's "Tower Cam" also showed a large, dark cloud with a cone underneath moving across a section of the city's Lower West Side and downtown area around 12:50 p.m.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The National Weather Service sent a team to investigate and confirmed a small tornado touched down at Niagara and Carolina streets, according to the Buffalo News.
The National Weather Service had forecast thunderstorms with possible hail and high winds Monday but a tornado warning wasn't issued, WVIB said.
During a news conference before the tornado was confirmed, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the storm's ferocity was startling.
"It surprised everyone," he said, according to the Associated Press.
Tornadoes were confirmed in the nearby towns of Eden and West Falls three weeks ago.
The Ellicott Center rehabilitation facility near the site of Monday's tornado was damaged and 30 of its 125 residents will have to be relocated, WIVB said.
Minor damage was also reported at City Hall and Hutchinson Central Technical High School.
About 1,000 customers were without power and several streets were closed, as was an exit ramp from U.S. Route 190, WVIB said.
