PORTLAND, N.Y. (WKBW) — The National Weather Service in Buffalo surveyed damage caused by Thursday's storms and determined a tornado touched down in Portland.
.@NWSBUFFALO confirming to @WKBW a tornado did touch down in town of Portland Thursday, but they have not released full details. The @NWSBUFFALO already surveyed the site where storm left significant damage to a barn. @AaronCh7Weather https://t.co/VN0s2gBMzh
— eileen buckley (@eileenwkbw) July 17, 2020
Video obtained by 7 Eyewitness News in Portland showed significant damage to a family-owned barn.
The National Weather Service determined by Friday afternoon that the tornado was an EF-1. On the EF Scale, an EF-1 is the second-weakest and indicates a tornado with wind speeds of 86 to 110 miles per hour.
The @NWSBUFFALO confirmed a Tornado did the damage in Portland, here's a look at the Enhanced Fujita scale used to classify how strong it was. This is generalized but gives you an idea of damage related to winds! @WKBW @AaronCh7Weather @eileenwkbw @AshleyroweWKBW pic.twitter.com/5fuEM0ii1E
— Autumn Lewandowski (@AutumnsWeather) July 17, 2020
The National Weather Service reports the tornado touched down at approximately 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, and had a maximum wind speed of 100 miles per hour. The storm was about 35 yards wide and traveled about one and a half miles.
The NWS says a semi trailer was lifted, rotated, and set down 150 feet away. Windows of a home on Barnes Road were pulled away. A barn on Barnes Road was destroyed, a second barn had its second story torn away. Two other barns on Thayer Road were also damaged. No human injuries were reported, but injuries were reported to livestock.
Storms caused high winds, significant rain and flooding across Western New York on Thursday night. While Tornado Warnings were issued for several areas over the course of the evening, the tornado in Portland is currently the only known touchdown occurrence.
