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So Was That A Tornado Last Night Or What?
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Nov 16, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Nov 16, 2020
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A swift and angry tempest blew through New York City on Sunday night, dislodging scaffolding, walloping outdoor dining structures, and knocking out power for thousands of households in the metro area. And while the intense wind event seemed to strike across the five boroughs, those in the Bronx and parts of Manhattan got an added bonus: a blaring phone alert warning of a possible tornado.
The rare warning was issued for six counties in the region just before 9 p.m., and quickly sent New Yorkers into a spiral of confusion about how to take shelter when you live in a tiny box in the sky. Others who were on the street at the time reported experiencing the promised tornado — or at least the sensation of one — up close.
Michael William said he was walking on 11th Avenue near 42nd Street when he got caught in the rush of wind. "We were under scaffolding, but it didn't look secure," the founder of Man'edged Magazine told Gothamist. "Stuff was hitting our heads, garbage bags flying, debris flying. I was like should I be worried?"
He said he did not get the tornado alert, but quickly deduced that's what it was from Twitter, as the wind whipped piles of trash at his head. "New York 2020!" he recalled thinking. "What is happening?"
It remains unclear if there actually was a tornado on Sunday night. Most of the damage appeared to be the result of straight-line wind gusts, according to meteorologist John Homenuk, who runs the New York Metro Weather Twitter account. A more definitive answer will come after the National Weather Service deploys crews to review areas of damage that radar picked up as a possible tornado.
While tornado alerts are fairly uncommon in New York, "November tornado warnings are essentially unheard of," according to Homenuk. Since 1986, there has been only one November tornado in the region.
It's possible that spinning air funnels that shoot down from the sky are just another thing we'll have to add to the list of possibilities, however. "We're seeing more and more of these anomalous events out of season," Homenuk notes, as the climate crisis dramatically increases the likelihood of extreme weather events.
Sunday night's storm also left around 10,000 people without power, including nearly 4,000 Con Ed customers in New York City and Westchester, and more than 6,000 PSEG customers in New Jersey and Long Island. There were no injuries recorded in New York City, according to the FDNY.
For those wondering how to survive the next twister, we asked a Native Midwesterner for some help.
Tagged
tornado warning
tornado
weather
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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