Big NYC Storm This Morning

[PhilDernerJr]

Almost all the trains are severely affected (subway, rail, etc.) offices are opening late like it's a snowstorm and I heard there was a tornado in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

What are you experiencing and how are you coping?

[AirtrafficController]

Heavy Rains and Winds and a very close lighting strike that jumped me out of my bed.

[PhilDernerJr]

Ok, let's hear from people who have jobs. :)

[Mellyrose]

I braved the streets, leaving at my normal time and immediately started to try and hail a cab with no luck. The N/W trains are not running and after about 15 minutes I came back home and started calling my company's car services.

I was on hold waiting for Skyline to pick up for 30 minutes. Yes, 30 minutes...they obviously were ignoring the calls.

I just tried Dial Car and gave up on them after about 13 minutes.


Not exactly sure what my next step is going to be. A lot of my co-workers turned back and are working from home, but my position doesn't exactly work like that. :|

[NIKV69]

I got in Oceanside right before the heavy stuff came though Southern State and Sunrise Highway were not that bad but I heard from a couple of members they were flooded when they tried to get here. We are under water here. Tornado warning was issued too. It was cool, I spent a few minutes outside when the bad lightning was hitting. Way cool.

[Iberia A340-600]

I don't have a job. :(

I'll be headed into the city in the next 30 minutes, hope by 12:33 when I get in things have calmed down a bit. I was talking to my friend who lives in SoHo and she said it was like a monsoon last night!

[RDU-JFK]

I live in Brooklyn. Got to Avenue M on the Q train at 7am. Was told Q and B was not running, so I took the B9 to Avenue N on the F. Got as far as Church Avenue to be told that the F tunnels were flooded. Got outside and took some bus towards Jay Street. At Flatbosh Avenue and 6th Avenue the traffic was so bad I got out and walked to Atlantic Avenue. Nothing was running, so I planned on walking to the Brooklyn Bridge. On my way I got to Nevins Street, heard a train, and caught a 4. We were stuck at Boro Hall for 10 minutes and I finally got to Wall Street, then my office at 9:25. WHAT A MESS!

Every single line was affected. There was also a tornado warning in Brooklyn. Great lightning displays with some loud bursts of thunder.


Absolutely no one is on the office!

[mirrodie]

RANT

not suitable for audiences under 18.


People were F$#*$%ing imbeciles this morning. All traffic down Rte 110 where it was DRY. Once you hit COlonial Springs road, NO traffic and yet ridiculously wet roads.

A big FUNGOOL to the INCONSIDERATE wretched wench in the Volvo who kept changning lanes without signalling. May you impale your car in a pole the next person you cut off.

I can deal with traffic. But if you could load a building full of all the inconsiderate A#$holes and blow them up (or shove them down a Utah coal mine and blow it up), the world would be a safer nicer place.

*big breathe*.....


otherwise just a wet humid morning
:roll:

[NIKV69]

A big FUNGOOL to the INCONSIDERATE wretched wench in the Volvo who kept changning lanes without signalling. May you impale your car in a pole the next person you cut off.

Mario have you been on Southern State in the last 5 years? This behavior is normal NY driving these days. I thank the Virgin Mary I work right off of Ocean parkway it is without a doubt the most peaceful drive in the world.

[hiss srq]

I was woken up to a lightning strike real close to my house at like 0630. That storm was INTENSE!!!!! The amount of lightning and intensity of the rain was unbeleivable. I thought I was back in Florida for a minute. My dog climbed up inder my it scared her so bad.

[PhilDernerJr]

I have to say, I'm a little surprised that the subway system was THAT affected by this. Granted, it was a rough storm, but it seemed to be par for summer t-storms.

[emshighway]

Basement flooded but not much I can do for that (I rent :lol: ). NWS is investigating a tornado in Bay Ridge (58/6 is the command center). Traffic for me wasn't that bad as I take side streets and why I moved back to Queens :mrgreen: . It took my wife 3 hours from Middle Village to Long Island College Hospital.

[flyboy 28]

Out by us, I couldn't sleep because of the lightning last night. Not because I was scared, but because it was so effin' bright. Almost every second there was a strike. Since I couldn't sleep, I contemplated getting up to take some long exposures to try and catch some forks, but I was too cozy in my bed. :)

Power was out at work this morning, so I got the day off. :D

[Matt Molnar]

Dang I saw a bunch of lighting but the A/C drowned out the noise and I was so tired I slept through the storm. Now I'm on the UWS and word on the street is the 1 train isn't running, the MTA website is down, so I'm not sure how I'm getting to work. I guess I'll bus it or just walk (52 blocks).

[emshighway]

New York City Transit Subways
# 2 Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Smoke condition at Borough Hall Station, Both Directions # 2 Line runs via 5 line between Nevins Street Station (Brooklyn) and 149th Street-Grand Concourse Station (Bronx)
# 4 & 5 Lines
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Flooding Both Directions # 4 & 5 Lines service suspended between Wall Street Station (Manhattan) and 42nd Street-Grand Central Station (Manhattan)
# 6 Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Flooding Both Directions # 6 Line service suspended between Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station (Manhattan) and 42nd Street-Grand Central Station (Manhattan)
B Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Downed tree at Church Avenue, Both Directions B Line service suspended between Prospect Park Station (Brooklyn) and Brighton Beach
Q Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Downed tree at Church Avenue, Both Directions Q Line service suspended between Prospect Park Station (Brooklyn) and Ocean Parkway Station (Brooklyn)
R Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Weather related Both Directions R Line runs via N line between Canal Street Station (Manhattan) and Pacific Street Station (Brooklyn)
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Flooding at 36th Street (Queens), Southbound R Line service suspended between Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station (Queens) and Bay Ridge-95th Street Station (Brooklyn)
Systemwide
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Weather related Systemwide in New York City expect extensive delays.
W Line
MTA NYC Transit Subway: Due to Weather related Both Directions W Line service suspended between Ditmars Boulevard-Astoria Station (Queens) and Whitehall Street-South Ferry Station (Manhattan)

[Nycfly75]

Lightning was intense, thunder booms going off every few seconds at its height although I didnt see too much wind as was in Brooklyn. Luckily I just have a 5 minute drive to JFK to work.

[hiss srq]

It's funny because now it is totally dry out there at least by me. No flooding or anything though I have not gone on the dock to see if the water is higher than normal. No major damage out over here. I am headded to the mall so I will see the rest of the island when I get there. My Dad said there are a ton of branches down in the lot of his wharehouse though.

[Matt Molnar]

I have to say, I'm a little surprised that the subway system was THAT affected by this. Granted, it was a rough storm, but it seemed to be par for summer t-storms.

I think rain as heavy as this (Central Park got 3.37 inches in less than 2 hours) normally hits an only isolated area, whereas this was just a massive concentration of heavy rain that enveloped the entire area. The radar I saw from channel 2 was the largest mass of orange and red cells I've ever seen over NYC. 99 times out of 100, strong storms coming from the west weaken once they get over the hills of northern Jersey and the Hudson River. These storms seem to have exploded when they got to the coastline and the city.

[Matt Molnar]

Anyway, I made it to work. When I left at 10:30 the 1 train was fine for where I needed, though it is not moving south of 34th. LIRR and MNRR seem to be nearly back to normal, but the subways are still a disaster. With the Queens Blvd line still shut down east of Forest Hills, I would guess LIRR will be honoring MetroCards for the evening rush. My trip back to Queens tonight will probably be an adventure. :x

[Midnight Mike]

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_220080815.html

[liagalinnyc]

Headed out for the 1 train a little bit later than usual (some days you just don't want to get out of bed... and I should have followed my instinct to call out sick) and was half expecting the 1 to not be running (it's only 1 level underground and even light rainstorms flood the line) so when I got confirmation of that I was not surprised.

Went to catch the M104 bus from the UWS and the line of people was RIDICULOUS. Heard that even the C was delayed, so I decided to walk to a different bus line.

I'd never caught a bus on West End Ave. before, but I figured there was probably one that ran there, so I walked over and then continued down looking for a stop.... ten mins later and thanks to a kindly doorman, I learned that assumption WAS DEAD WRONG.

Headed over to Riverside Drive (after noting the Broadway-bus-disasters heading down the street with passengers practically spilling out the doors and windows) figuring that most people wouldn't bother walking so far west to head down to midtown.

Joined a small crowd of a dozen or so people waiting for the M5.

An M5 appeared in the distance.... and M5 disappeared in the distance. Too full to stop.

An M5 appeared in the distance.... and M5 disappeared in the distance. Too full to stop.

An M5 appeared in the distance.... and M5 disappeared in the distance. Too full to stop.

An M5 appeared in the distance.... and M5 disappeared in the distance. Too full to stop.

An M5 appeared in the distance.... and M5 disappeared in the distance. Too full to stop.

I ask the girl to my right if she wants to walk back to Broadway and split a cab downtown--apparently that what she had been trying for the 30 mins BEFORE she gave up and came to the bus stop. Decide that idea sucks.

Tried to get any NYC friends on the phone, all went to voicemail. Called my mother in STL to see if she could check out the MTA website, maybe I could catch a crosstown or walk to the East Side if those trains were still running. Mother couldn't figure out my directions, "google the words MTA and NYC," and is no help to me at all.

Decide to start walking.

Approach an express stop and *gasp* see an M5 stop to let off approx. 10 people and 10 of the waiting got on. Figured that was the place to be and the next bus would probably have departing passengers as well. Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Call boss to tell her that she should not to even try to come in before the afternoon (she lives about 10 blocks away from me and has family visiting her in town); at this moment kindly looking man and woman strangers roll down their window to see if anyone wants a ride. I hang up on my boss. I run to the car. For the first time in my life I get in a car with strangers (didn't even do it 2 years ago during the MTA strike) because I just have that much stuff I have to get done in my office and I must make it in.

Get a ride to midtown. Was not raped/murdered/killed. Walk the last 15 blocks to my office.

2 hours and 5 mins later walk into my office. Boyfriend calls. He just got up and is leaving the apartment. 1 train has started running. He'll be at work in 10 mins. Consider breaking up with him.

[PhilDernerJr]

HAHAHA! Excellent trip report, Lia.

My experience was different form some others.

first, I woke up at 530am to the sound of thunder. Lightning and thunder simultaneously, telling me that it was striking within just a couple blocks of me or closer. Mel and I had gone to sleep with the windows open, so we crawled out of bed and closed our respective windows and got paper towels to dry off the soaked sills and our nightstands.

Mel woke up at 715, and she got me up as my alarm clock at 815, to see her to the door and lock up behind her.

Now...I have the day off. So I just sat at my desk in my pajamas, ate some cereal and read email while listening to the rough time OTHER people were having on NY1 on TV.

Mel came home and destroyed the "man town" getaway that I create for myself when home alone....I had to put away the beer, the blocks of cheese, the loud music and the Rambo headband came off. Suckage.

Mel and I hung out for a couple hours, getting (my 2nd) breakfast and shipping her off to work on round 12:45.

That was pretty much it as far as my involvement. Glad none of you got hurt.

[USAF Pilot 07]

F2 Tornado in Brooklyn... Very rare in these parts... Man I would have loved to been there for that!

[adam613]

F2 Tornado in Brooklyn... Very rare in these parts... Man I would have loved to been there for that!

The SPC has it as a severe wind report.

I woke up at about 4:30 to the sound of thunder. (Actually, "wake up" is a generous term...I'm a bit of an insomniac.) I looked outside, and it was the second-craziest thunderstorm I've seen in New York (the first being the Labor Day Derecho of 1998). Torrential rain, constant lightning, and a bit windy. I live only a few miles from where this tornado happened, and I didn't know it was that bad until I got up and read the news. I wish this kind of thing happened during the day...I work in a glass building :D

[hiss srq]

It had to be a heck of an experince from the airports. A few nights ago we had what one of my co workers deemed the 5th worst t storm he had seen in his time at LGA. I would have loved to have been up in the "office" for that one for sure today. And that is RARE that it was an F2. Scarey to think that only spitting distance from my home there was something like that. It would have sucked to be asleep when that happened.

[USAF Pilot 07]

F2 Tornado in Brooklyn... Very rare in these parts... Man I would have loved to been there for that!

The SPC has it as a severe wind report.



Interesting... Either SPC hasn't updated their records, or the local NWS is lying.. lol... What I saw on the news tonight was that the NWS declared the damage a result of a EF2 tornado... So I will take that as the truth.. Maybe the word hasn't gotten down to Norman, OK yet.. I mean for them an EF-2 is probably nothing...

Oh and an EF-2 isn't "rare" for up here, it's just unusual... We saw an EF-2 last year in Westchester County, during the day though... Tornadoes can happen anywhere, anytime... It's all about atmospheric conditions, and how favorable they are for rotation etc...

[PhilDernerJr]

What do they do to actually determine if and what kind of tornado it was after the fact?

[emshighway]

What do they do to actually determine if and what kind of tornado it was after the fact?

NWS actually sends a team to the site and measures things like the grass patterns, amount of force estimated to uproot trees and so on.

[adam613]

The SPC updated their data.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/070807_rpts.html

The second one is a mile from my apartment!! I'd have gone to see the damage yesterday if I knew about it :shock:

[USAF Pilot 07]

What do they do to actually determine if and what kind of tornado it was after the fact?


The old Fujita Scale used damage as the main factor when determining the strength of a tornado. This was somewhat problematic though, as many tornadoes, especially in the middle of the country, don't hit anything and damage is minimal... So you could have had a huge tornado with 300MPH winds in a large field but because there was minimal damage, only have it rated as a F2. On the flip side, you could have had a weak tornado rip through a shanty-town and rip it apart, and have it rated as a F3.

The new Fujita Scale, called the "Enhanced Fujita Scale", takes not only damage into account but also wind speed and strength... The NWS will send field units out after a reported tornado to assess damage and come up with a report.

[PhilDernerJr]

Though we all know what they are, what actually constitutes a tornado to them?

[MarkLawrence]

Exactly how tornadoes form is still not completely known. But after many years of study, meteorologists, scientists who study weather, do know some things for sure.

Tornadoes can form as part of several different types of storms but they are produced inside powerful thunderstorms more than any other. Tornadoes form where warm, moist air and cold, dry air meet and begin to create updrafts that develop into massive rotating cumulonimbus clouds or supercells. Sometimes a spinning column of air called a vortex forms within these clouds. When this vortex becomes visible as a funnel cloud and reaches the ground, a tornado is created.

Not all tornadoes form as part of a thunderstorms. Meteorologists have discovered that sometimes a horizontal layer of air can be set spinning. This happens when it gets caught between two other layers of air that are moving in opposite directions. This would be similar to rolling a pencil between your hands. With the help of updrafts and gravity this column can become vertical and extend to the ground to form a tornado.

The word tornado comes from two Spanish words, tronado meaning thunderstorm and tornar meaning to turn .

(c) Jim Cornish - borrowed from his web site.

[USAF Pilot 07]

Though we all know what they are, what actually constitutes a tornado to them?

Cornish's explanation is very well put...

To answer your question about what constitutes a Tornado to the NWS.... A Tornado, to the NWS, and by definition, is a rapidly rotating vortex that extends from the clouds to the ground.

As for how the NWS will determine whether or not a tornado had actually touched down.... The NWS will do a few things to determine whether or not to make the determination that a tornado occurred.

Firstly, they will gather all the damage reports received, and pinpoint them on a map.
Then, they will go back and look at radar images, and especially velocity captures to look for evidence of rotation. Velocity images show motion both towards and away from the radar. Generally, on one side of the radar, you will have motion towards the radar, and on the other side of the radar, motion away from the radar. What the NWS will look for is rotation "couplets" at the location around where the tornado was reported. This is where even though the overall motion will be towards or away from the radar, at a certain area, generally in a confined spot, you have both motion towards AND away from the radar. This is indicative of rotation, because in order for you to have horizontal motion both towards and away from the radar in basically the same spot, you have to have some sort of spinning. The stronger the rotation, the more likely a tornado is present or could form. The NWS will look at different angles too (i.e. different altitudes) to see where rotation was really present - i.e. whether just at lower levels, or throughout the atmosphere...
Also, if you've ever heard a Tornado Warning, most go like this: "at XXXX local time, National Weather Service Doppler Radar indicated a Tornado at XXX". These warnings mean that even though no one has reported an actual Tornado, there is significant evidence from looking at the radar (both reflectivity and velocity) to let people know that a Tornado either is, or could very shortly form. In the 1980s, before Doppler Radar was introduced, Tornado Warnings were only issued when there was an actual no-**** Tornado on the ground. This left people will little lead time, because a Tornado was generally only reported when it was close to, or on top off a populated area. Since radar was introduced, we've been able to really give people a heads up on what is coming, and what could very well materialize, and give them plenty of time to seek shelter.

But back to the subject at hand... After reviewing radar captures and some other data, the NWS will generally send out a trained field team to the location to assess damage and talk to witnesses. Generally, what they are looking for is evidence that a tornado - i.e. a rapidly rotating vortex - had indeed touched down and that the damage wasn't just caused by strong winds. What they will look at is how stuff was destroyed. For example, they will look at how trees were snapped, what kind of shape objects were left in, what kind of stuff was destroyed and what kind of stuff wasn't destroyed. Sometimes, they will fly over the area in question to see what kind of damage pattern was left. Many times it will be easy to see the vortex signature from the air, especially in less urban areas.

After all this, they will come to a conclusion on whether or not a tornado did indeed touch down, and if it did what strength they estimated the tornado to be.

Sorry if the explanation was a little confusing. It's hard to explain some stuff without images, and it is like 245AM so I am kinda tired...

[Matt Molnar]

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...REVISED
TORNADO DAMAGE SURVEY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPTON NY
232 PM EDT TUE AUG 14 2007

...NEW YORK CITY TORNADO ON AUGUST 8TH...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ALONG WITH NEW YORK CITY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS CONFIRMED THAT SEVERAL TORNADO
TOUCHDOWNS OCCURRED ALONG AN APPROXIMATE 9 MILE PATH FROM STATEN
ISLAND TO BROOKLYN IN THE EARLY MORNING OF AUGUST 8TH.

THE FIRST TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WAS IN STATEN ISLAND AT APPROXIMATELY
6:22 AM IN THE VICINITY OF ST. AUSTINS PLACE IN THE LIVINGSTON -
RANDALL MANOR AREA. THE TORNADO MOVED EAST...WITH ADDITIONAL DAMAGE
OCCURRING IN THE TOMPKINSVILLE AREA. MOST OF THE DAMAGE IN STATEN
ISLAND WAS TO TREES...AND ESTIMATED AT EF-1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA
SCALE...WITH WINDS OF 86 TO 100 MPH.

BASED ON RE-ANALYSIS OF RADAR DATA, THE STATEN ISLAND TORNADO
APPARENTLY DISSIPATED AS A SECOND CIRCULATION DEVELOPED JUST NORTH
OF THE FIRST CIRCULATION. THE DAMAGE IN TOMPKINSVILLE MAY BE A
RESULT OF THIS SECOND CIRCULATION.

THIS CIRCULATION INTENSIFIED AS IT MOVED EAST ACROSS THE VERRAZANO
NARROWS. THE TORNADO RE-DEVELOPED BY THE TIME THE CIRCULATION MOVED
ON SHORE IN BROOKLYN. DAMAGE IN THE FORM OF FALLEN TREES AND
STRUCTURAL ROOF DAMAGE OCCURRED IN BAY RIDGE STARTING IN THE AREA
FROM SHORE ROAD BETWEEN 71ST AND 78TH EASTWARD TO BAY RIDGE BLVD.
THIS OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 6:32 AM. THE TORNADO MAY HAVE BRIEFLY
LIFTED AND THEN TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN 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 FARTHER
NORTHEAST...WITH SCATTERED TREE DAMAGE ALONG 6TH AVENUE. BASED ON
THE ASSESSED DAMAGE IN BAY RIDGE...THIS TORNADIC DAMAGE IS
CLASSIFIED AS EF-2 WITH ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS OF 111 TO 135 MPH.

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 5 HOMES...AND TREE DAMAGE INDICATES STRONG
EF-1 DAMAGE.

THE TORNADO THEN HEADED EAST...AND TOUCHED DOWN AT LEAST THE FOURTH
BUT FINAL TIME IN KENSINGTON JUST EAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF CHURCH
AVENUE AND BEVERLY ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 6:40 AM. NUMEROUS
TREES...APPROXIMATELY 30...WERE UPROOTED ALONG OCEAN PARKWAY AS THE
TORNADO MOVED EAST. THE TORNADO PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO TREES
AND STRUCTURES IN THE AREA WITH EAST 8TH AND 7TH STREETS BEING HIT
HARD. DAMAGE WAS REPORTED AS FAR EAST AS ARGYLE ROAD. THE TORNADO
WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE IN THIS AREA BEFORE IT
LIFTED.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS ALONG WITH METEOROLOGISTS
FROM THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK CONTINUE TO
ANALYZE DATA FROM THIS HISTORIC METEOROLOGICAL EVENT.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAD ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING FOR
PORTIONS OF STATEN ISLAND AND BROOKLYN AT 6:28 AM. A SECOND TORNADO
WARNING WAS ISSUED AT 6:50 AM FOR SECTIONS OF
BROOKLYN...QUEENS...AND NASSAU COUNTY.

$$

TONGUE/CRISTANTELLO

[Mellyrose]

We're in Kansas, Toto? :shock: