BUFFALO, NY -- When you think about Western New York, you don't normally think about tornadoes, but they do happen here.
It was just last Halloween when a weak tornado touched down here at the Buffalo Harbor, when a waterspout came onshore.
But let's head south and start in the county that gets the most tornadoes in our area and some strong ones: Chautauqua - where there have been 27 recorded tornadoes in 60 years. About half of those happened around Chautauqua Lake.
And the strongest local tornado happened near there too: an F4 tornado traveling northeast of Clymer to just southeast of Panama on May 31, 1985.
The number of tornadoes has decreased for the county when you look at the last 60 years. The most recent 30 years had 10 tornadoes, while the previous 30 years had 17.
Chautauqua County hasn't seen a tornado since November 14, 2011. It was the latest season tornado recorded for WNY.
The second county with the most tornadoes is actually Erie County. Many remember last year's EF2 tornado that hit the Hamburg Fairgrounds, which blew out hundreds of car windows and damaged several buildings there, including the Grandstand. Erie County as a whole has had 20 recorded tornadoes in 60 years. Half of those actually happened in northern Erie County, with a cluster around Cheektowaga and Clarence.
The strongest tornado in the county was an F3 in Eden on August 19, 1970. The number of tornadoes has increased for Erie County when you look at the last six decades. The most recent 30 years had 13 tornadoes, while the previous 30 years had only seven tornadoes. And 2017 had three tornadoes, the most in a single year.
In third place for most tornadoes is Cattaraugus County, which has received 15 tornadoes. A third of them were near West Valley and Franklinville, with the strongest tornado in the county (an F3) occurring in SE Salamanca on May 15, 1961 and in West Valley on July 24 in 1967. This county claims the earliest season tornado, which happened on February 24, 1975.
Cattaraugus County hasn't seen a tornado since July 24, 2010.
Allegany County had 10 tornadoes. The strongest were found near Angelica. There was an F2 in Angelica in 1993 and then another F2 in SW Belfast which moved SE to Angelica in 2002.
Allegany County saw two tornadoes on July 20, 2017.
Niagara County has received four tornadoes, three of those hit the Lockport area. The strongest was an F1.
The county hasn't seen a tornado since August 28, 1994.
Wyoming County has received three tornadoes. The strongest was an F2.
The county hasn't seen a tornado since June 2, 1998.
Genesee County has only see two tornadoes, one in Batavia and one near Fargo and Corfu. The strongest was an F1.
The county hasn't seen a tornado since July 25, 2009.
Finally, the county with the least amount of tornadoes is Orleans County with only one tornado touching down in 60 years, in Lyndonville near Lake Ontario, on September 29, 1986. It was an F1.
Based on this research, the Western New York tornado season peaks in July, with June and August right behind.
More information and exact tornado tracks can be found on the NCDC website.