444
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$4.6M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Erie County, New York: 444 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 75. That places the county #161 nationally and #14 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Erie County, New York: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Erie County is the 2020s, when 115 of the county's 444 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Erie County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 56.2% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #161 for this hazard and #14 within New York, putting it in the 94.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Erie County with 110 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 1999 | BUFFALO | 55 | 0 | 12 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2026 | EAST HAMBURG | 50 | $5K |
| Jun 27, 2025 | PROTECTION | 50 | $500 |
| May 16, 2025 | LACKAWANNA | 50 | $500 |
| Apr 19, 2025 | SPRING BROOK STATION | 50 | $2K |
| Apr 19, 2025 | ELMA CENTER | 50 | $2K |
| Apr 19, 2025 | EVANS CENTER | 50 | $1K |
| Sep 9, 2024 | GRAND ISLAND | 74 | $0 |
| Aug 17, 2024 | SARDINIA | 51 | $500 |
| Aug 17, 2024 | NORTH COLLINS | 51 | $500 |
| Aug 17, 2024 | ELMA | 51 | $1K |
Other hazards here
More from Erie County
- Hail 131
- Flash Flood 94
- Flood 57
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A thunderstorm spawned a small tornado during the early morning hours. Downburst winds with an embedded tornado downed numerous trees. Some of the trees were 1 to 1.5 feet in diameter and at least 100 feet high. Some structural damage to homes resulted from falling trees and limbs.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Erie County, New York?
444 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Erie County between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Erie County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Erie County measured 75.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Erie County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Erie County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/erie-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.