A tornado reportedly made landfall near Olcott just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo confirmed that a waterspout, reported on Lake Ontario near the village, had transitioned onto land and was being tracked. The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report of a tornado crossing a property on Johnson Creek Road.
A stormchaser posted video on social media of what he described as a tornado in the vicinity of the intersection of Routes 78 and 18 in Olcott. The video shows heavy rain and debris being swirled in the air.
Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti said 911 dispatchers were “flooded with calls reporting ‘trees down, lines down and property damage.’ “
He said his office was not aware of widespread power outages.
Between 6:15 and 8:15 p.m., dispatchers handled 317 total calls, including 124 calls to 911. Filicetti said the calls for service were initially centered in the “northeast portion of the county” before shifting west to Niagara Falls and south to North Tonawanda.
Niagara Falls Police said they responded to numerous calls of trees down in parts of the North End and Hyde Park. There were no reports of flash flooding.