Wild weather in western New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Some wild weather is rolling though western New York.

High winds and heavy rain are causing problems in several areas.

It's not everyday you see the waves come crashing in hard over the breakwalls. But then again, it's not everyday that the Lake Erie water level rises four feet in a few hours like it did Monday afternoon.

It's the bathtub effect called a seiche, when high winds push the Lake Erie waters higher on this end.

At the Small Boat Harbor they started battening down the hatches early Monday morning even before the winds kicked up.

"They paired up in twos, walked the docks, made sure everything was tethered that there aren't any loose boat or canvases," said Chris Todorov, Manager of Small Boat Harbor.

"The docks are floating right along with it right now. They ride it pretty good, but for the most part, we constantly have to maneuver our work boat barge and push them back so it does center to ride the spuds," said Todorov.

Just as an example, launching docks here at the Small Boat Harbor were covered in water.

The strong winds and thunderstorms late Monday morning also did a number on land.

"We heard all the noise and the house started to shake, the curtains started to blow," said Connie Heiser, a Cheektowaga resident.

Before Connie Heiser knew it, a tree came down on the edge of her house and a car on Chapel Avenue in Cheektowaga.

On Fargo Avenue on the west side, neighbors knew this tree was an accident waiting to happen.

"We all knew, my sister called about the tree too, we have papers documenting that too," said Fargo Avenue Resident Yvonne Antonetti.

"They have to do something of the damage of this car. They City has to take responsibility for their actions. We do too, so do they," Antonetti said.

View the weather picture gallery here.