Holy Shit! There Was a TORNADO IN WESTCHESTER, NY!!!!!

[Beetwasher]

:wow: That's fucked up!

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_193162950.html

Tornado Tears Through Southern Westchester
Westchester OEM: Avoid Route 9A/Saw Mill Corridor
(CBS) NEW YORK A tornado touched down northeast of Tarrytown in Westchester County on Wednesday afternoon, causing significant damage.

CBS 2 meteorologist John Bolaris reports witnesses on the ground seeing water spouts as the fast-moving storm headed toward Hawthorne just after 3:40 p.m.

--snip--

Just FYI, that's about 20 minutes norht of NYC.

[ALago1]

1. Holy shit

I used to spend a lot of time around that area. Good thing it missed the Tappan Zee Bridge. I don't think that thing could withstand a fierce tornado.

[PWRinNY]

2. Yup

Sucked trying to get home. Trees down everywhere, pretty substantial. Hope no one was hurt!

[Beetwasher]

7. It's Fucking Crazy!!!

In all my life I've lived here and never heard of a tornado anywhere in the whole state. I heard in the last few years they were starting to touch down in Jersey, but friggin' Westchester??!!!

[HockeyMom]

14. Staten Island and Long Island

They have touched down in both places in the past. The one on Long Island was in Selden near Suffolk Community College a few years ago.

[Beetwasher]

15. Hadn't Heard About Those

Actually, now that I think about it, I sorta do remember a story about one on LI.

[PWRinNY]

18. Tornado warning is over now

There's a tornado watch in effect still. Stopped raining, but the humidity is terrible. I'm pretty sure a tornado hit Armonk, on Rt. 22 & 120. Lots of trees down there, big ones, and all localized. No damage here in Chappaqua that I can see.

[TheWraith]

32. Rare, but not unheard of.

I'm in the western part of the state, and we had one some years ago that went over top of my house, tore through some woods, and strolled right up main street. Minimal damage and no loss of life, though. Tornadoes do happen here in NY, just at very infrequent intervals.

[itzamirakul]

37. NBC field reporters were quite "shook up".

One who was near the greatest amount of damage said that she was still nervous because she had either actually been in the tornado or very close to it.

It is not a form of weather condition that we see too often in NY. Turned black outside and scared the shit out of everybody.

[Sgent]

57. If she were actually in

a tornado, she would know it.

Turning black is fairly common in any major (tornado producing) squall line.

Tornado's have a LOT more wind speed than even a cat 5 hurricane. Thankfully, they usually aren't very big. However, where they touch, they are absolutely devastating.

[itzamirakul]

59. Sure, you're right! I guess she was close enough to see the

destruction as it was happening. I probably would have been speechless too, if I were in her shoes at that time. She described what she saw when the roof was ripped off of a big company building that had employees inside. Then she pointed out a tractor trailer that had been overtuned several times rolling end over end down the road.

Newscasters are now saying it might have been an F2 tornado with winds of 130mph.

[katty]

43. this is not common for NY state-right??!!

[phylny]

58. It's happened before in the state - see below (Orange County)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coldenham_Elementary_School_disaster

[im10ashus]

12. 3 minor injuries thus far.

Thankfully.

[Bluebear]

3. Two tornados, Wendell, Massachusetts

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/11/storm_leaves_wendell_with_damage_no_power/

[NewYorkerfromMass]

20. Western Mass. is a mini tornado alley

this is not that unusual.
The curious need to google Worcester (very deadly 1950's tornado in a dense urban area, perhaps an F3 to F4) Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Cornwall CT, etc...
There is something about the Hudson River valley which allows torndaos to form and sweep right into the Berkshire hills to very deadly effect.
I'd say there is a big one every 5 to 10 years.

[joeunderdog]

52. One in Methuen, MA yesterday. Nothing to see here... nt

[dubeskin]

4. Dang Terrorists. That's why Ney York needs money from the DHS!!!

[Raydawg1234]

5. Must be from all the hot air comming out of Washington DC

[itzamirakul]

33. Hot air from Washington and lack of attention to the environment.

Can anyone say..."Fcukin' up the planet!"

[RevolutionStartsNow]

6. Hey I used to live near there

in Yorktown Heights.

Scary!

[WestHoustonDem]

24. I used to live in Croton-on-Hudson and my folks are still

in Ossining! Yikes! :scared:

[RevolutionStartsNow]

38. hey i know where that is!

I was just a pre-teenager at the time, and we only lived there for 2 years, but I remember the area was so beautiful, with lots of rivers and woods, esp up in the Croton area I believe. Seems to me there was a park we visited near there.

But we never had a tornado! Just lots of thunderstorms.

[WestHoustonDem]

44. Probably Croton Point which is a peninsula on the Hudson

Very pretty up there, but I hated everything else about it.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

53. Yeah, I hated it too

Yorktown Heights at the time was a real burnout town. Lots of money, lots of kids with not enough parental attention. Nothing to do but get very very drunk.

[Corgigal]

46. I grew up in Ossining and graduated from the local HS up there

my brother lives in Hawthorne now. I understand his area is ground zero. The local NY media (I have satellite and have been watching it) states only 3 minor injuries. Amazing.

I lived there for 20 years and we never had a tornado or even a warning. Times they are a changin.

[hedgehog]

8. I've been trying for info on this

My husband called at 3PM EDT because his plane was at Allentown PA instead of Newark. He said Newark, La Guardia and JFK were all shut down due to the threat of tornadoes!

[Beetwasher]

10. Insane!

n/t

[malaise]

9. We were talking about that

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1618556

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. Whew! Looks like Scarsdale is okay.

I have friends in Scarsdale.

:whew:

[texastoast]

13. Oh no!

Hope everyone is okay.

[Igel]

16. Rare, but they apparently happen.

http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/nytorn.htm

For 1950-present, or nearly so:

Westchester County Tornadoes

AUG 11, 1971 003 1030 0 0 F1 119
SEP 01, 1974 006 2350 0 0 F1 119
SEP 26, 1977 005 1515 0 0 F1 119
NOV 16, 1989 008 1015 0 0 F0 119
JUN 12, 1991 008 1410 1 0 F0 119
SEP 03, 1992 022 1610 0 0 F0 119

Don't know if I trust all the numbers, but here's a year-by-year summary:
http://www.disastercenter.com/newyork/tornado.html

[Beetwasher]

17. Thanks!

Good info!

[im10ashus]

19. They are saying on the NBC news that is "appears" to be bigger.

Bigger than and F0 or F1. But they have to wait until "experts" arrive at the scene to determine the true strength. I thought wind strength could tell them that.

[hedgehog]

21. WInd strength is estimated/determined by the damage seen on the

ground. Also, they can tell if it was a tornado or wind storm. Syracuse New York had a bad wind storm on Labor Day about 5 or 6 years back that killed several people camping out at the State Fairgrounds. For some reason, the term "wind shear" comes to mind.

[beam me up scottie]

28. Yeah, downbursts can also do that kind of damage.

I've seen the winds from one twist an iron traffic signal pole almost 90° and toss 18-wheelers like they were Matchbox cars.

[Igel]

40. It's also worth noting that NY tornados

have been getting more common in recent decades. I'd expect some stronger ones to be in there, simply because that's the odds.

Still, they weren't unknown before.

[im10ashus]

50. True that.

AND they are predicting a higher than normal, although not unheard of, hurricane season in the area.

[NJCher]

22. showing footage of damage on local news now

Showing the damage on TV now. As a former midwesterner, this looks familiar. I've lived through a severe tornado. They have a woman talking about it now on television. There are trees that look like they've been stripped of their branches.




Cher

[Cleita]

23. Surprise, tornadoes can hit anywhere.

Years ago in the eighties, when Los Angeles was having horrendous El Nino storms, I was walking to lunch with a friend of mine from Kansas.

She looked up into the sky and said, "If I didn't know we were in California, that sure looks like a tornado cloud to me."

We forgot about it but when I got home it was on the news that a tornado had torn up part of the buildings near the Convention Center. Also, that was the year that half of the Santa Monica pier was ripped to shreds. No one blamed a tornado for that but it was a bad windy storm that did, something we weren't accustomed to.

[AllNamesHaveBeenUsed]

34. We had them the California...

I remember them in both Concord and Napa.

[LeftyMom]

51. We get them here in the central valley as well

I don't recall that one's ever touched down in Sacramento proper, but they have in Natomas (a northern suburb) as recently as last year and are more common, though still infrequent, in the north valley.

[feminazi]

54. there was one in sunnyvale (san jose area) several years ago, too

it uprooted a few trees, but no major damage.

[WestHoustonDem]

25. There's a hospital right there that my Dad's been in and out

of all year (he's in a nursing home north of there now). Any word of any damage to it?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

26. Been near there

on the Tappen Zee Bridge. Beautiful country, but not the kind I associate with tornadoes.

[berner59]

27. I live pretty close....

Drove near the area to pick up my daughter at a different train station (trains were stopped before the damaged area)...HUGE trees uprooted and moved... I've never seen tornadoes in this area...oh no...there's no global warming which can cause freaky extreme weather...move along...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

31. glad you and your daughter are safe

I've lived in the Midwest all my life (why my ancestors left NY State is beyond me) and am used to tornadoes-to an extent. There's always an element of fear and awe when they are near.

[beam me up scottie]

29. That really sucks.

If you guys have to start worrying about tornadoes frequently, I highly recommend valium.

[radfringe]

30. Wilkes-Barre / Scranton PA

we've been under a tornado watch for most of the day...

had one come through about 4-5 years ago in the area, damage pretty extensive
2 or 3 people died

hoping we don't get another one like that on top of the flooding we just had

[TheCentepedeShoes]

35. Yowsa!

I've only been to NYC a couple of times, and only once to Westchester and across the Tappan Zee. Don't think of tornados in that area. Lovely place, hope everyone is safe.

[Throd]

36. Tornadoes hate us for our freedom.

[lonestarnot]

47. Yes they do.

[OKNancy]

39. You guys crack me up

[PWRinNY]

41. Nothing like Oklahoma, for sure

but there are a million people in Westchester County. My sister lived in Tulsa for a time. Her stories gave me nightmares! :scared:

[OKNancy]

42. We have what to do down pretty good. I've lived here

all my life and have never been in a tornado. Being prepared and doing the right things will keep just about anyone safe if there ever is one. With the crazy weather all around, all communities should have warning systems and public service announcements about proper precautions.

I didn't mean to make light of the tornado, but it did tickle me a little that there is such a long thread about it.

[PWRinNY]

45. Glad to tickle you :-)

It's big news for us folks up here! So many people, such congested roadways as it is, so many trees, so many homes and buildings, and nobody is ever really quite prepared for a tornado in this area, because it just happens here so rarely.

The weather service still hasn't confirmed tornadoes, but judging from what I saw on my drive home, I'd say there definitely had to be at least one. My neighbors still haven't made it home, I hope they're OK. Probably stuck in traffic, as so many roads had to be closed for tree damage and electricity outages, traffic lights out everywhere. Some of the traffic lights were even sideways.

The sky turned so black earlier this afternoon, it was really freaky. I'm so glad there was no damage here, I was scared of what I'd find when I got home, but everything's good, I have power, my place is still standing, my kitties are safe, and I can get online.

Flooding here is nearly a daily occurrence these days though - every time we get a heavy rainfall, which is very often this summer, major roadways flood. It's a pain.

I'm so glad you've never been in a tornado. Glad I've never been in one either! Bad enough just to drive through the damage after the fact.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

48. Worcester, Mass 1953, 94 dead..... F4

OK- you're being a little naive, and insensitive here, if you think it's no big deal to ride out a tornado, especially a big one.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s1135.htm .........

Worcester, Mass.: June 9, 1953

The last of the deadly 1953 trio, a massive (F4) tornado, touched down in Petersham, Mass., at 3:25 p.m. (EDT), June 9, and set its sights on Worcester, 30 miles to the southeast. Described as a “huge cone of black smoke,” the funnel intensified quickly and moved southeast at 35 mph. through Barre (two killed), Rutland (two killed), Holden (nine killed) and into northern Worcester, where 60 people died. Cutting a path one-mile wide, the tornado then tracked east from Worcester through Shrewsbury (12 killed), Westborough (six killed) and on to Southborough (three killed).

On the ground for nearly an hour and a half, the Worcester tornado left a 46-mile path of death and destruction. It killed 94 people, injured almost 1,300 and destroyed or damaged 4,000 buildings and hundreds of cars. The damage estimate for this tornado was approximately $52 million ($349 million in 2002 dollars).

The force of this enormous killer carried a huge amount of debris eastward. A music box, a three-foot aluminum trap door and a large piece of a roof were discovered on the grounds of an observatory 35 miles away. Debris was also found in Massachusetts Bay and out in the Atlantic Ocean....

[im10ashus]

49. Are you in a remote area?

I went through Tulsa once. It reminded me a lot of my hometown, Indianapolis.

[Liberal Veteran]

55. I blame Xaiver's School for Gifted Youngsters.

Everytime I drive past Graymalkin Lane, there's something weird going on at that school. Explosions, giant robots, freak storms, ice bridges in the middle of summer, some hairy guy carrying around a dangerous set of cutlery around the grounds.

[Up2Late]

56. So! It's going to be over 100 degrees in NORTH Dakota Saturday!

According to The Weather Channel.

How weird is that?

[windbreeze]

60. Is that really weird???

I thought it was that way most every summer.....I spent 6 weeks in ND in June/July 88...and it was hotter than hell the whole time, where my in laws live...in fact, the leaves on the trees in my b i l's yard, dried up and fell off while we were there...if you picked them up off the ground, they were so dry, it sounded as though someone was crinkling cellophane...(never in my life had I ever seen anything like that happen)..there were quite a few 100 degree days...and days that it was 80 by 7am....my youngest daughter couldn't go out of the ac and into the heat, because her nose would bleed...the sunflowers they grow were seriously stunted...all the roadside pools were dried up and white, there were lots of lightning started fires, and horrific thunderstorms.....and tornado warnings..
windbreeze