The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning Rochester NY at 2:44 p.m. on Saturday for Rochester and nearby Monroe County areas. The warning was set to run until 3:15 p.m. as severe thunderstorms moved through the region.
Rochester and Monroe County
The warning covered Rochester, Chili, Le Roy, Byron, Caledonia, Scottsville, Churchville, Riga, Bergen and Elba. Those places were under the same afternoon alert while a flash flood warning for Rochester and several other places was set to last until 7 p.m.
By 3 p.m., over 400 RG&E homes in Monroe County were without power. Earlier that day, the largest outage areas at 12:45 p.m. were East Rochester, Pittsford, Perinton and Penfield.
Town of Byron storm
The National Weather Service said the severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was in the Town of Byron, about seven miles northeast of Batavia, and was moving east at about 35 mph. That placed the warning area beside the storm's path, not just in its center.
The Rochester Pride Festival was canceled because of the storms. The Hilton Kiddie Parade was canceled and the Hilton carnival was postponed.
Saturday warning timeline
There had also been a tornado warning in the Canandaigua area earlier on Saturday afternoon, and it ended at 1:45 p.m. That warning included Geneva, Canandaigua, Clifton Springs, Phelps, Bloomfield, Farmington, Gorham, East Bloomfield, Manchester and Shortsville.
For residents in Rochester and the listed Monroe County communities, the immediate question was whether the warning would end on schedule at 3:15 p.m. or be extended as storms continued to move east.
