By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The U.S. Weather Service confirmed Wednesday that a tornado touched down southeast of Machias Tuesday afternoon, leveling hundreds of trees along its 1.5-mile path.
Investigators determined the tornado was EF-1, with winds up to 107 mph. There were no injuries reported, as much of the damage was in a swampy area west of Route 242. The damage included the area near Maple Valley and Sisson Roads.
Many parts of northern Cattaraugus County from Gowanda to Farmersville were hit by high winds, rain and hail on Tuesday. The same storms battered the northern portions of Allegany County, which suffered major flooding and closed damaged roads.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service investigated storm-related damage from a rotating thunderstorm southeast of Machias. The damage was found to be consistent with an EF-1 tornado.
“As the storm moved across northern Cattaraugus County, a mid-level mesocyclone began to intensify east of the U.S. Route 219,” the Weather Services reported. “The low-level mesocyclone, or circulation within a supercell, quickly intensified southeast of Machias, but was short-lived and dissipated east of Route 16 south of Machias.”
Damage began just west of Maple Valley Road, where numerous trees were uprooted or snapped at several residences. The tornado touched down about 3:43 p.m. Tuesday and was on the ground for about 3 minutes. It was about 150 yards wide.
“Additional damage observed farther west closer to the town of West Valley included a barn roof ripped off near Roszyk Hill Road,” the Weather Service said. “This damage was more consistent with straight line winds before the storm’s low-level mesocyclone intensified. Estimated winds for this damage were 74 mph.”
The National Weather Service thanked the Cattaraugus County Emergency Services and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the survey.
Robert Kuhn, Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the Department of Emergency Services said Thursday that there was a lot of damage in the county. Besides the localized tornado damage, there was extensive damage from hail — especially in Gowanda.
“A lot of homes were damaged in Gowanda plus municipal buildings,” Kohn told the Olean Star. “Many cars were also hit from the hail.”
Gowanda was the scene of widespread damage from hail — including windows in the Gowanda Municipal Building on the Eric County side of Cattaraugus Creek and the Persia Town Hall on nthe Cattarauhgus County side. Numerous buildings show damage from the hail, looking like someone shot them with buckshot.
Up to 5,000 people were without power in the north-central part of the county in the aftermath of the storm. All power was restored by 6 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Kuhn.
Some road shoulders were washed out in the affected areas of Ashford, Otto, East Otto, Machias and Farmersville. Some culverts were plugged with flood debris.
Kuhn asked people with storm damage to consider reporting it to the Office of Emergency Services. Reports to the office helped the Weather Service determine where the damage began. Take pictures before starting the cleanup, he added.
Here’s a link to the county’s Emergency Services website to report storm damage:
Last summer, an EF-1 tornado touched down in the town of Great Valley, leveling trees and some structures in its path on June 9.
