Storm (Tornado?) Near LGA and Throughout NY Area

[PhilDernerJr]

An "unpublished" spotting location on the College Point shoreline, the same place where I cut my hand open and required surgery, has had a bad couple of days.

First, yesterday morning a man in Flushing killed a girl he was in love with, and stole her car and tried to off himself by driving it into Flushing Bay (ARTICLE (http://gothamist.com/2010/06/24/murder-suicide_leaves_baby_motherle.php))...down the very hill where I go shooting for skyline shots (http://www.airliners.net/photo/American-Airlines/Boeing-737-823/0591722/L/&sid=d572891a6440837e69fe24f310e01111).

This afternoon I decided to go there and survey any damage. I show up about an hour after the bad storms passed through, and the assembled crowds tell me they saw funnels coming down from the sky, which uprooted two large trees, damaging a home, destroying another home and two cars, knocking down power lines and blocking the street...not 20 feet from where the car launched off the cliff. Thankfully no one was injured in any of the cars or homes.

Here are cell phone pics:

http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/storm_062410_1.jpg

http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/storm_062410_2.jpg

I was watching this storm form and move all day...it was only a fairly typical thunderstorm until it came across the Bronx, where it turned dark red.

Weather report:

AT 240 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL... AND DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR WHITESTONE... OR NEAR THROGS NECK BRIDGE... AND MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH

Radar:
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/whitestonestorm.jpg

If you have pics or stories, post them!

[Gerard]

Bridgeport, Ct got rocked and has declared a State of Emergency and a curfew is in effect.
Looks like the storm hit the south shore of Ct. and north shore of LI.
Out of train at Hicksville and saw some trees down, power out Woodbury Road area.
LIRR suspended service on Port Wash & Oyster Bay lines.
Got dark in Manh (upper east side) some rain, a clap of thunder and thats it.

[T-Bird76]

That was a nasty cell...passed over Melville unleashing hell.

[eric8669]

Bridgeport, Ct got rocked and has declared a State of Emergency and a curfew is in effect.
Looks like the storm hit the south shore of Ct. and north shore of LI.
Out of train at Hicksville and saw some trees down, power out Woodbury Road area.
LIRR suspended service on Port Wash & Oyster Bay lines.
Got dark in Manh (upper east side) some rain, a clap of thunder and thats it.

I was near Bridgeport at the time, Pretty Nasty stuff

[Big Tim #70]

Based on your pictures, it doesn't look like tornado damage. The trees are blown straight down, where in a Tornado, you usually see cyclonic action where the trees are twisted & spun out of the ground.

[bluejuice]

These were probably straight line winds,but interesting on the south shore we hardly recieved any rain My wife left out the paper yesterday on the deck and it was only slightly damp and intact. So,sorry no pictures or stories

[Sentinel Chicken]

Instability in the area wasn't enough to support uber-beast mesocyclonic supercells that routinely shell use with Mother Nature's artillery, hail. But impressive storms, nonetheless. Some storm chasers pointed to marine effects as well that led to most of the storms having trouble sustaining themselves, but a few did get going enough to drop some tornadoes.

The Bridgeport tornado has been confirmed as an EF-1, though.

[Big Tim #70]

The wierd thing is that I'm straight across the sound from Bridgeport, on the North Shore (Miller Place) & we didn't get anything at my house. Pretty trippy how these monster cells were so isolated.

[emshighway]

NWS confirmed an EF-1 tornado did touch down at Bridgeport.

Long Island/Queens damaged reported as a downburst of 100 MPH but not a tornado.

[Sentinel Chicken]

The wierd thing is that I'm straight across the sound from Bridgeport, on the North Shore (Miller Place) & we didn't get anything at my house. Pretty trippy how these monster cells were so isolated.

Smallest tornadic supercell documented I believe was only about 22,000 feet in height. Quite the midget when the monsters we see in the southern Plains can easily top 50,000 feet.

[PhilDernerJr]

I went back to the scene this afternoon because a woman whose car was destroyed asked if I could print up weather reports for her insurance claim.

Turns out that tree is HUGE, easily 60-70 feet tall, or....long, since it now lays through that house, across its backyard, and into the yard on the opposite side of the block. The home was unoccupied at the time...the previous owner moved out just a few months ago after complaining about that very tree....claiming that it was going to fall on the house. She moved to another house just down the block and couple months later, the tree kills the house. Crazy.

[JetBlueAirwaysFan]

NWS confirmed an EF-1 tornado did touch down at Bridgeport.

Long Island/Queens damaged reported as a downburst of 100 MPH but not a tornado.

I heard about the EF-1 Tornado and the straight line winds on LI/Queens. Did not know the LI winds were in the form of a downburst though. Those are the real dangerous winds that could push a plane right out of the sky (Delta's DFW crash for example).

[PhilDernerJr]

I went back to the scene this afternoon because a woman whose car was destroyed asked if I could print up weather reports for her insurance claim.

Turns out that tree is HUGE, easily 60-70 feet tall, or....long, since it now lays through that house, across its backyard, and into the yard on the opposite side of the block. The home was unoccupied at the time...the previous owner moved out just a few months ago after complaining about that very tree....claiming that it was going to fall on the house. She moved to another house just down the block and couple months later, the tree kills the house. Crazy.

The tops of these storms were 60,000ft.