Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Tornado Chronicles: Breezy Point, Coney Island, NYC, Brooklyn Tornadoes of 9-8-12...

At least two tornadoes, the first beginning as a waterspout off of Coney Island, struck the Brooklyn area of southeast New York City on Saturday morning, September 8th.

Here is the first picture that came in from Coney Island near the New York Aquarium (taken by Charlie Hoxie, via twitter).  The vortex could have been a waterspout at this point, but that is not completely clear:


...and here is another perspective, also from Coney Island (photographer unknown, via twitter):


A video was posted on YouTube, reportedly from Breezy Point, which is very near the same area as above (video by Roy Currlin via YouTube).  You can clearly see damage being done at about 2:35 into the video:


Here is another video from Breezy Point, from the "don't try this at home" department (they are way too close to the tornado, but the video is spectacular).  WARNING:  bad language right off the top and again toward the end:



The National Weather Service (NWS) in New York City has completed a survey of the Breezy Point tornado and rated it EF-0, with maximum winds estimated at 70 mph.  The survey indicates that the tornado began as a waterspout at the New York Harbor entrance and then moved onshore at the Breezy Point Surf Club.  It was on the ground for approximately 200 yards before lifting near Rockaway Inlet.

Photos then started coming in from the Brooklyn area itself, first along Flatbush Avenue near the King's Plaza Shopping Center (photographer unknown, via twitter):


The following video appears to have been taken near the same time that the above photo near Kings Plaza.  Warning - bad language:



...and this one shows the tornado as it crossed Port Gerritsen Beach, which is between Kings Plaza and the JFK Airport:


A photo then emerged along the Belt Parkway heading toward JFK Airport (taken by Zack Rosenthal, via twitter):


Here is a video from the same vicinity:



The NWS has completed the damage survey of the Brooklyn tornado, and rated it EF-1 intensity, with maximum winds estimated at 110 mph.  I am working on some damage photos and videos and will post those soon.

So far, most of the damage reports have consisted of trees and power lines down, limbs down, etc.  Based on that video near Breezy Point, it seems that some structural damage was likely in that area.  I'll be watching for further information as it comes forward.

This post will be updated throughout the day and weekend as additional photos, video and information becomes available, so if you have an interest in this event, please bookmark the post and check back from time to time...

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1 comment:

roy said...

The video titled "Tornado Up Close Footage..." is definitely not from Breezy Point. There is no highway near the Breezy Point Surf Club, the truck that speeds though this video proves it was taken elsewhere.