Tornado briefly sweeps into Buffalo, damaging buildings and scattering tree limbs

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A small tornado took Buffalo by surprise Monday, damaging buildings, flipping cars and sending debris swirling over downtown.

A spiraling column was caught on multiple videos shortly before 1 p.m. One video showed the cell appearing to move from Lake Erie into the city, which sits on the lake's shore, sending pieces of roofing flying before quickly dissipating. The National Weather Service determined the tornado began at the shore near where the lake flows into the Niagara River and traveled a 1.4-mile (2.25-kilometer) path.

“It surprised everyone,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference.

In the aftermath, photos showed a car on its roof in a parking lot, street signs bent and fallen tree limbs across roads and sidewalks.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

A weather service statement said the tornado was preliminarily rated as an EF-1 with a maximum estimated wind speed of 90 mph (145 kph) based on the damage to trees, "the moving of several dozen rooftop air conditioning units, and the loss of roofing material on a couple of multi-level or multi-family units.”

Poloncarz said a nursing facility damaged in the storm was assessing whether to move patients. A school sustained damage to some windows, several traffic lights were knocked offline and some cars were overturned, Mayor Byron Brown said.

It is the third tornado reported in Erie County in a month, Poloncarz said. Tornados were confirmed in the towns of Eden and West Falls on July 10. Two additional tornadoes were reported in neighboring Genesee County the same day.

This story has been corrected to show that the tornado was spotted around 1 p.m., not 2 p.m.

Crews work to remove downed trees covering cars parked along Prospect Avenue on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/The Buffalo News via AP)

A bystander and firefighters help a woman pass through Prospect Avenue after a sudden storm ripped through the neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)

A flipped car sits in the parking lot of the Buffalo City Mission after a sudden storm hit on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex/The Buffalo News via AP)

Firefighters survey damage after a sudden storm ripped through Prospect Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)

The aftermath of a sudden storm on Prospect Avenue in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)

MAINEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Nelly Korda had a tough time getting out of bed Thursday morning. Any Solheim Cup fatigue had no bearing on her standard of golf, a bogey-free 67 in the Kroger Queen City Championship that left her two shots behind Ashleigh Buhai.

Korda and Leona Maguire, who also had a 5-under 67, are among 11 players who competed in the Solheim Cup last week and got right back to work at the TPC River's Bend.

Buhai, a former Women's British Open champion from South Africa, isn't part of the Solheim Cup and had a few weeks to rest from an injury-plagued season. She ran off eight birdies for her 7-under 65, giving her a one-shot lead over Jeeno Thitikul and Yan Liu.

“Just shows that rest is just as important,” Buhai said. “I know if I give myself five days to warm up, with my coach coming in, we did good work, and, yeah, it was nice to actually just see it pay off today.”

Korda at least had the afternoon for nap time after her early start. She went 3-1 in her matches last week in the Solheim Cup as the Americans defeated Europe for the first time in seven years.

“I’m looking forward to the stay-in-bed-all-day vibe today. It was definitely tough kind of waking up this morning, but I do love competing and I love being out here,” Korda said. “Everyone that played last week is going to be tired. I’m just trying to take it one step at a time, know that my energy levels aren’t the greatest, but I’m still motivated.”

She found additional motivation not so much from her five birdies but keeping a clean card.

“There is just no greater feeling than minimized your mistakes, or making no mistakes,” Korda said. “Whenever you get to play a bogey-free round I feel like it motivates you, and hopefully I can take that energy into the next three days.”

Maguire only played two matches last week, having played all five matches her previous two appearances. She wasn't pleased about being sat out, especially after she easily disposed of Ally Ewing (4 and 3) in singles.

But maybe there was one upside.

“Last couple of Solheims I've played five matches, been exhausted after the Solheim,” she said. “So nice to be a little bit fresher time around.”

Korda and Maguire were part of a large group at 67 that included Lydia Ko, who last played three weeks ago and had every reason to be floating on air. Along with winning Olympic gold just over a month ago, she captured the Women's British Open at St. Andrews.

Ko said her big summer — winning the gold medal got her into the LPGA Hall of Fame — still hasn't sunk in. She arrived in the Cincinnati area having to learn a new course. The tournament was held at Kenwood Country Club the last two years, which is going through some improvements.

“It's a new golf course, so all of us are just trying to get used to this TPC course and just putting ourselves in position,” Ko said. “And sometimes I think when you do see low scores, you try and chase it too much, but I just tried to stick to my own kind of routine and my strategy.”

Rose Zhang went 4-0 in her matches at the Solheim Cup — needing only 58 holes — and finished with three straight bogeys for a 73. Esther Henseleit had a 74, and the other seven Solheim Cup players were at par or better.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

United States' Nelly Korda holds the winner's trophy after the United States defeated Europe in the Solheim Cup golf tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Gainesville, Va. (AP Photo/Matt York)