'87 overall was a year of weather extremes...especially during the summer....this tornado (a rarity in western new york) struck in the midst of one of the hottest summers in 50 years...(at that point)....
I was at the Pizza Hut on Union Road, just south of the Putt Putt, when it happened.
While the twister wrecked the Putt Putt and the Holiday Showcase restaurant across the street from it, all Pizza Hut suffered was a few downed shingles from its roof.
Mom didn't let me hear the end of it when I got home!
Less than a year later, in a school play, we alluded to this event by having "two tickets to *Gone with the Wind* at Holiday Showcase" as part of the script.
@StukInBuf That's a cool story, thanks for sharing. I live in Cheektowaga but was vacationing in Virginia when that happened. I heard all about the tornado that evening from a relative who phoned me.
@bundangbear It was extremely rare and a once-in-a-lifetime event, or so we thought, until it happened again 19 years later in close proximity to where the first one occurred!
The one thing that NONE of the news outlets mentioned or showed was that Tiorunda was hit too. The Tornado FIRST set down near Ja-Fa-Fa Hots at the intersection of Harlem and Maryvale. One of their marquee signs blasted through our apartment wall. The Tornado then bounded through Tiorunda to get to the Thruway which it apparently followed to George Urban Blvd. and then Union Rd. and the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.
I live on fath Drive when the tornado happened. It destroyed the Holiday Showcase restaurant just down the street and ripped siding off of houses; i remember being afraid a tree was going to fall on the first car I ever owned (I was just 17). I had JUST bought the car and it was parked under a damaged tree. My mom was in the living room when it happened and said the curtains were stuck to the ceiling.
I will never forget the experience for the rest of my life.
@bill61570 One of the more memorable things about this tornado was that, unlike most other WNY tornadoes that hit remote rural areas, this F2 twister struck a densely populated residential and commercial district. It really is amazing that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.
I still have the Buffalo News articles about this tornado. As for the Long John Silvers, I am embarrassed. I MUST either be senile, or for ALL of the YEARS I lived and traveled around in Buffalo, I SHOULD remember the layout of that intersection better. DAMN, I moved to Florida in hopes of seeing something like this and as soon as I do, all hell breaks loose in Buffalo. I JUST CAN'T WIN, WWHHHAAAA!
I remember this one. I was coming from the city on the 33 and saw the clouds but missed seeing that damn tornado. I saw the damage the day after and it was pretty bad. Which Long John Silvers was that in the pic? I am thinking it was the one by St. Barnabas.
@zunidoll2 This tornado did considerably more damage than the one in 2006. One of the pictures of the tornado from the series they showed in this clip also appeared in the Buffalo News the next day. I still have the copy. The caption under the photo says: "Scott Fleetwood of Buffalo was standing near the intersection of Walden Ave. and Union Rd. when he snapped a shot of the funnel." So apparently there used to be a Long John Silvers near that corner in 1987.
I was sitting outside when this happened. I lived off William St. on Kennedy Rd. There were no clouds in sight from what I can remember. I knew it ripped up Putt-Putt.
Yea it was a joke
GETEMGRAG 3 weeks ago
I like hurricanes
Getemgregg 3 weeks ago
@Getemgregg We only have tornadoes in Cheektowaga!
MrTraindude 3 weeks ago
'87 overall was a year of weather extremes...especially during the summer....this tornado (a rarity in western new york) struck in the midst of one of the hottest summers in 50 years...(at that point)....
domirules28 3 months ago
Channel 7's music has never changed.
Gorette66 7 months ago
@Gorette66 You're right!
MrTraindude 7 months ago
In This Clip, From 0:00 To 0:31, It Was WKBW-TV's Channel 7 Eyewitness News Nightcast Video Open From Thursday Night, July 30, 1987.
radiodj1520 1 year ago
Comment removed
radiodj1520 1 year ago
I was at the Pizza Hut on Union Road, just south of the Putt Putt, when it happened.
While the twister wrecked the Putt Putt and the Holiday Showcase restaurant across the street from it, all Pizza Hut suffered was a few downed shingles from its roof.
Mom didn't let me hear the end of it when I got home!
Less than a year later, in a school play, we alluded to this event by having "two tickets to *Gone with the Wind* at Holiday Showcase" as part of the script.
StukInBuf 1 year ago
@StukInBuf That's a cool story, thanks for sharing. I live in Cheektowaga but was vacationing in Virginia when that happened. I heard all about the tornado that evening from a relative who phoned me.
MrTraindude 1 year ago
This is indeed an important part of upstate history.
bundangbear 1 year ago
@bundangbear It was extremely rare and a once-in-a-lifetime event, or so we thought, until it happened again 19 years later in close proximity to where the first one occurred!
MrTraindude 1 year ago
The one thing that NONE of the news outlets mentioned or showed was that Tiorunda was hit too. The Tornado FIRST set down near Ja-Fa-Fa Hots at the intersection of Harlem and Maryvale. One of their marquee signs blasted through our apartment wall. The Tornado then bounded through Tiorunda to get to the Thruway which it apparently followed to George Urban Blvd. and then Union Rd. and the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.
Jcar20373 1 year ago
I live on fath Drive when the tornado happened. It destroyed the Holiday Showcase restaurant just down the street and ripped siding off of houses; i remember being afraid a tree was going to fall on the first car I ever owned (I was just 17). I had JUST bought the car and it was parked under a damaged tree. My mom was in the living room when it happened and said the curtains were stuck to the ceiling.
I will never forget the experience for the rest of my life.
bill61570 1 year ago
@bill61570 One of the more memorable things about this tornado was that, unlike most other WNY tornadoes that hit remote rural areas, this F2 twister struck a densely populated residential and commercial district. It really is amazing that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.
MrTraindude 1 year ago
I still have the Buffalo News articles about this tornado. As for the Long John Silvers, I am embarrassed. I MUST either be senile, or for ALL of the YEARS I lived and traveled around in Buffalo, I SHOULD remember the layout of that intersection better. DAMN, I moved to Florida in hopes of seeing something like this and as soon as I do, all hell breaks loose in Buffalo. I JUST CAN'T WIN, WWHHHAAAA!
zunidoll2 1 year ago
@zunidoll2 I'm sure it's not senility, just a temporary lapse in memory! :)
MrTraindude 1 year ago
I remember this one. I was coming from the city on the 33 and saw the clouds but missed seeing that damn tornado. I saw the damage the day after and it was pretty bad. Which Long John Silvers was that in the pic? I am thinking it was the one by St. Barnabas.
zunidoll2 1 year ago
@zunidoll2 This tornado did considerably more damage than the one in 2006. One of the pictures of the tornado from the series they showed in this clip also appeared in the Buffalo News the next day. I still have the copy. The caption under the photo says: "Scott Fleetwood of Buffalo was standing near the intersection of Walden Ave. and Union Rd. when he snapped a shot of the funnel." So apparently there used to be a Long John Silvers near that corner in 1987.
MrTraindude 1 year ago
I was sitting outside when this happened. I lived off William St. on Kennedy Rd. There were no clouds in sight from what I can remember. I knew it ripped up Putt-Putt.
iluvbflo 2 years ago
What a cool news intro
sarah51580 2 years ago
@sarah51580 Would be better if the theme was Frank Gari's then-updated rendition of "Cool Hand Luke/Tar Sequence."
StukInBuf 1 year ago
I remember when that happened. That neighborhood was really torn up. Nice to see Irv again!
imgort 2 years ago 2
@imgort I know that Mary Travers is now a politician in Orchard Park; married to John Murphy all these years.
Whatever has become of Messrs. Collin and Brown?
StukInBuf 1 year ago