Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A deluge of rainfall that flooded businesses, homes and roads brought a record-breaking end to an already wild weather week in Western New York.
Just as the worst rains started to fall the National Weather Service confirmed the first of three tornados that touched down Wednesday. EF-1 twisters were confirmed in Olcott, East Shelby and Alexander.
And then the skies opened up. Training thunderstorms brought record rainfall to the Buffalo Airport Thursday with the National Weather Service recording 3.04". That beats the old record of 1.79" set in 1878.
If the rain that fell Thursday was snow, it would have been a major storm.
"A simple ratio would be 10:1, so every inch of water you'd have 10 inches of snow, so you're looking at about 30 [inches]," National Weather Service meteorologist Liz Jurkowski tells WBEN.
"But in any part of lake effect sometimes we're getting snowfall ratios of 15:1, so 3x15, you're looking at 45 inches. So something around a possible record-breaking snowfall for Buffalo."
Other rainfall totals of note: 3.29" in parts of Kenmore. "There's definitely some places that saw 2.25 inches within an hour so the ground just can't keep up with trying to infiltrate that much water that quickly," Jurkowski said.
Jim Fink - WBEN
Cars at Delaware and Hertel.
Jurkowski says most of the water has receded as of Friday morning and you may just see some leftover ponding.
