A powerful storm front that brought death and destruction to the Midwest blasted through Western New York on Saturday, sending trees crashing down onto homes and vehicles, closing highways and blacking out more than 90,000 power customers.
High waters surged into areas along the Buffalo waterfront and the Niagara River. Residents were evacuated from homes along Lake Erie in Hamburg and along the Buffalo River. Canalside was flooded.
The Skyway was closed but will reopen to all traffic at 4 a.m.
Sections of Route 5 in Hamburg and streets near the Erie Canal in the Tonawandas also were closed. Hundreds of traffic lights went dark.
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A wind gust of 77 mph was registered at a maritime station in Dunkirk shortly before 4 p.m. Peak winds reached 74 mph at Niagara Falls International Airport. At the National Weather Service office at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga, top wind was 66 mph. Strong winds continued into the evening.
The 122-year-old temperature record for the date – 61, set in 1899 – was broken at 8 a.m., when the reading reached 62 at the airport weather station. It kept climbing, topping out at 67 about 1 p.m. Temperatures plunged as the winds increased. By nightfall, they had dropped to about 40.
National Grid reported about 60,000 customers without electricity in the region, more than 30,000 of them in Erie County. NYSEG reported that nearly 30,000 of its customers had lost power.
By 10 p.m., National Grid had restored power to about 13,000 customers and NYSEG had brought electricity back to about 8,000.
The high wind warning, posted by the National Weather Service at 1 p.m., expired at 11 p.m. Lake shore flood warnings also expired at 11.
Buffalo received approximately 25 calls for traffic signals being completely out or on flash or signals that may have been damaged. Power had been restored to most locations by about 9:30 p.m. but there are a few still on flash that crews will address.
Due to rising waters, two intersections in Buffalo were closed around 6:30 p.m. at Niagara and Tonawanda streets and Hamburg and South streets, according to Department of Public Works officials. By 10 p.m., the intersection at Hamburg and South streets had been reopened.
The wind pushed Lake Erie more than nine feet above normal, sending water into the streets around Buffalo’s waterfront and the Buffalo River. Ganson Street was closed between Ohio and Michigan streets and police helped residents evacuate. A section of a brick wall on the historic Great Northern grain elevator on Ganson Street collapsed.
A large tree fell on two houses on Lakeview Avenue in Buffalo after strong wind gusts pushed through the area, according to the city’s Forestry Division.
The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, said city spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge. It was among more than 50 emergency tree related calls in Buffalo during the day due to the high winds.
Just before 4:30 p.m, Buffalo police and firefighters responded to a call of a tree falling on a vehicle at William and Monroe streets. Firefighters had to extricate the occupant from the vehicle. The person was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center to be treated for apparent non-life threatening injuries, DeGeorge said.
The wind was an issue for firefighters with the North Tonawanda Fire Department as they battled a blaze at a house on Sweeney Street. By the time they arrived at about 3 p.m., the fire was through the roof, said one firefighter at the scene. At 6 p.m., the house was still ablaze and the fire rekindled mid-evening.
Firefighters battle a blaze on Sweeney St. in North Tonawanda. The wind is making it difficult to bring the fire under control, said one firefighter at the scene pic.twitter.com/KTIIV92igy
— Deidre Williams Boyd (@DeidreWilliamsB) December 11, 2021
The high winds were making it difficult to bring it under control, the firefighter said. They would get the fire down and the wind would kick it back up.
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office issued a travel advisory, urging motorists to use extreme caution throughout the evening.
“There are numerous signal lights out along with trees and power wires down in roadways across Niagara County,” the advisory said.
The State Department of Public Service announced that it will distribute dry ice and bottled water to people affected by power outages at the following Western New York locations beginning at noon Sunday:
• JFK Community Center, 114 Hickory St., Buffalo
• City of Batavia Fire Department, 18 Evans St.
• Murphy Training Center, 665 Brigham Road, Dunkirk
