10th Twister In New York City Since 1950

National Weather Service meteorologists investigating damage from thunderstorms that swept through Brooklyn and Queens in New York City on Thursday have confirmed two tornadoes touched down.  The tornado in Brooklyn was rated EF-0 with maximum wind speeds of 80 mph.  The Queens tornado was slightly stronger, rated EF-1 with maximum winds of 100 mph.  Interestingly, straight line winds not associated with a tornado, but with a macroburst, produced with highest wind gusts which were estimated at 125 mph.  The two tornadoes were the 9th and 10th confirmed in New York City since 1950 and the third this summer.  A weak tornado touched down in the Bronx back in July.  The complete report from the National Weather Service is posted below:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1022 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2010

...TWO TORNADOES AND A MACROBURST CONFIRMED ON SEPTEMBER 16 2010...  

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR PARK SLOPE IN KINGS COUNTY (BROOKLYN) NY...

LOCATION...PARK SLOPE IN KINGS COUNTY (BROOKLYN) NY
DATE...SEPTEMBER 16 2010
ESTIMATED TIME...5:33 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF0
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...80 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...75 YARDS
YARDS PATH LENGTH...2 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...40.67 N / 73.99 W
ENDING LAT/LON...40.69 N /73.96 W
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK NY HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO
NEAR PARK SLOPE (BROOKLYN) IN KINGS COUNTY NY ON SEPTEMBER 16 2010.

THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN PARK SLOPE AND LIFTED 2 MILES NE OF
PARK SLOPE.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/NYC.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

&&

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR FLUSHING AND BAYSIDE IN QUEENS COUNTY NY...

LOCATION...FLUSHING/BAYSIDE IN QUEENS COUNTY NY
DATE...SEPTEMBER 16 2010
ESTIMATED TIME...5:42 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...100 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...100 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...4 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...40.74 N / 73.84 W
ENDING LAT/LON...40.80 N / 73.76 W
* FATALITIES...1
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK NY HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO
NEAR FLUSHING/BAYSIDE IN QUEENS COUNTY NY ON SEPTEMBER 16 2010.

THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 2 1/2 MILES SOUTH OF FLUSHING AND LIFTED
1 MILE NE OF BAYSIDE.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/NYC.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

&&

...MACROBURST /STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE/ CONFIRMED NEAR
MIDDLE VILLAGE AND FOREST HILLS IN QUEENS COUNTY NY...

LOCATION...MIDDLE VILLAGE/FOREST HILLS IN QUEENS COUNTY NY
DATE...SEPTEMBER 16 2010
ESTIMATED TIME...5:40 PM EDT
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...125 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...5 MILES
PATH LENGTH...8 MILES
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK NY HAS CONFIRMED A
MACROBURST /STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE/ NEAR MIDDLE VILLAGE IN QUEENS
COUNTY NY ON SEPTEMBER 16 2010.

THE PATH OF THE MACROBURST WAS FROM MIDDLE VILLAGE TO FOREST HILLS.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/NYC.

FOR REFERENCE...
A MACROBURST IS A CONVECTIVE DOWNDRAFT WITH AN AFFECTED OUTFLOW AREA
OF AT LEAST 2 1/2 MILES WIDE AND PEAK WINDS LASTING BETWEEN 5 AND 20
MINUTES. INTENSE MACROBURSTS MAY CAUSE TORNADO-FORCE DAMAGE OF UP TO
EF3 INTENSITY. STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS ARE GENERALLY ANY WIND THAT IS
NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ROTATION...USED MAINLY TO DIFFERENTIATE THEM
FROM TORNADIC WINDS.

Tom Tasselmyer