ROCHESTER, NY – The region is cleaning up Thursday after severe storms brought multiple tornado warnings, downed trees and power lines, flooded roads, large hail and widespread power outages. It later confirmed a tornado in Olcott in Niagara County, a tornado in Alexander in Genesee County (near Route 20), and one in East Shelby in Orleans County. The NWS will also survey storm damage in Shelby in Orleans County and Byron in Genesee County on Thursday after several tornado sightings yesterday. An Orleans County firefighter reported seeing a tornado touch down near Shelby Center, and viewers have been sending in photos of the supercell that may have produced a tornado around Shelby. If you have any photos of tornado-like clouds in your area, please send them to webmaster@whec.com. See our coverage of yesterday’s storms here and photos from spectators here. Wednesday night’s storms prompted tornado warnings for Monroe, Genesee, Orleans, Steuben, Seneca and Livingston counties, some of which lasted until 11 p.m. News10NBC’s Garrett Chan was live in Webster Thursday morning to look at the damage, and First Alert meteorologist Nate Morris was live in Shelby and Byron with details on the NWS study and what “tornado watch” means. Storm Damage in Webster Most of the remaining power outages in Monroe County occur in Webster. On Thursday morning, News10NBC saw a large tree downing power lines on Holt Road, tree branches damaging a lawn on Schlegel Road and some traffic lights out at intersections. We also saw RG&E crews working to repair damaged cables. When you go out on Thursday, be careful of flooded roads, underpasses and downed trees blocking roads. Utility crews remind people to stay at least 30 feet away from downed wires, as live wires carry high voltage that can cause injury or death. If a downed wire comes into contact with your vehicle, stay inside and wait for help. RG&E customers can report downed wires or other hazards by calling 1-800-743-1701. NYSEG customers can call 1-800.572-1131. More on tornado sightings The region received five tornado warnings Wednesday night. In two of them, in Shelby and Byron, people reported seeing a tornado. The National Weather Service will try to confirm those reports Thursday. The first reported tornado may have started as a waterspout, which is a tornado over a body of water. As First Alert meteorologist Nate Morris explains, the waterspout likely moved from Lake Ontario to the town of Newfane in Niagara County and then moved inland toward Shelby. Nate saw large fallen tree branches and debris scattered around Shelby. In Byron, Nate also saw some scattered debris, but said the damage didn’t seem as bad as Shelby’s. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if the reported tornado touched down, lifted off and then touched down again. Check back for updates on NWS findings. How common are tornadoes in the region? After strong winds in late June caused two confirmed tornadoes in the Finger Lakes area, Nate looked at some data on tornadoes in the region. Although tornadoes in New York State are rare, they are still a very real threat. Records of tornadoes in New York date back to 1748. Since then, 625 tornadoes have been recorded as of June. This makes New York the 30th-ranked state for tornadoes. By comparison, Texas ranks first with 10,665 tornadoes and Alaska ranks 50th with just four. New York’s 625 tornadoes have killed 58 people, injured 530 and caused nearly half a billion dollars in damage. Fortunately, due to our climate and geographic setting, most of our tornadoes are weak: 72% have been EF0 and EF1. EF2 represent 17% and EF3/EF4 are very rare. We have never had an EF5. 6% of our tornadoes were of unknown strength; most of these occurred very early in the record, as it is difficult to estimate the strength of a tornado with modern scales using historical reports from the time. The top five counties with the most tornadoes are surprisingly well distributed geographically: Oneida – 37 Suffolk – 32 Chautauqua – 31 Erie – 28 Ulster – 20 Monroe County has seen eight tornadoes, occurring on average once every 19 years. The only one to hit Rochester was on July 1, 1932. Using historical data, it was estimated to be an F2 and extended over 26 miles, forming four miles south of Brockport and dissipating three miles south of Webster. This is pretty incredible, considering that the average tornado in New York only lasts about three miles. Monroe County has not seen a tornado since 2020. Latest power outage numbers More than 10,000 homes or businesses were still without power across the region Thursday morning. In total, more than 38,000 customers were without power at one point in Western New York and the Finger Lakes, according to RG&E and NYSEG. Here are the numbers as of 7 p.m. Monroe County: 327 for RG&EL Livingston County: 55 for NYSEG Seneca County: 4,634 for NYSEGO Orleans County: 113 for National Grid You can see the latest outage numbers for RG&E here, NYSEG here and National Grid here. RELATED: For Related Stories: Storm Damage Tornado Warnings in Rochester Region Las Wednesday storms
