A Tornado in Brooklyn?

As crazy as that title sounds like, it is believed that a tornado actually touched down in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn early this morning. I know that area well, as I was born in Bay Ridge many years ago.

I was asleep at about 5 this morning. I was actually having a peculiar dream at the time. I dreamt that I was with a group of people and a sudden lightning storm was occurring, and I can remember that I was scared I was going to get hit by a bolt. Then I mysteriously woke up, and I heard the thunder outside, and then some massive flashes of lightning. It was just too spooky.

When I got up this morning, I heard about the damage that the storm had caused in Brooklyn. My area got some rain, but there was no visible damage here. Most of it was done in Bay Ridge and Sunset Park sections (they are both miles from my house). The heavy rains played havoc with the subways here in Brooklyn, and most of the above ground lines were shut down for most of the day.

The National Weather Service earlier today did confirm that a tornado did touch down in Brooklyn at about 6:30 AM. Here is their statement about it.

The tornado path was discontinuous and started in Bay Ridge sometime just after 6:30 a.m. today on Bay Ridge Avenue, between Third and Fourth Avenues, and continued on an east-northeast path across 68th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues. Eleven homes in this section had moderate to severe roof damage. The storm continued to move east-northeast into Leif Ericson Park Square, where severe damage to trees occurred. As the tornado lifted, it tore off the roof of the Nissan car dealership at the corner of 66th Street and Fifth Avenue. The tornado returned to the ground father northeast, with scattered tree damage along Sixth Avenue. Based on the assessed damage, this tornado is classified as an EF-2 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 111 to 135 m.p.h.

The tornado returned to the ground as another pocket of significant damage occurred on 58th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The roof was ripped off of five homes, and tree damage indicates strong EF-1 damage, with winds of 86 to 100 m.p.h.

Really scary stuff. You expect that kind of thing in places like Oklahoma and Kansas. It's the first tornado to touch down in New York City since one was registered on Staten Island in 2003.