BUFFALO, N.Y. — The National Weather Service Office in Buffalo confirmed an EF-2 tornado went through parts of Wyoming County on Thursday morning.
The tornado measured about 500 yards wide and traveled about 10 miles with peak wind speeds of up to 115 MPH. This categorizes this tornado as a low end, EF-2 but strong nonetheless.
The tornado formed and touched down at 10:40 a.m. just southeast of Java in and produced EF-2 damage there. The tornado continued on the ground, tracking east and closely following route 78 in Wyoming County. It went through Smiths Corner and Wethersfield, producing Ef-1 and EF-0 damage. The tornado eventually lifted just outside of Gainesville at 10:55 a.m. near NY Route 19.
This is the strongest tornado to occurred in Western New York since the Hamburg tornado in the summer of 2017. That tornado was also an EF-2 with peak winds of 135 mph.
Stay tuned to Storm Team 2 for the latest updates.