Tag Archives: New York

National Weather

Northeastern U.S. paralyzed as nor’easter brings blizzard conditions

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Before and after pictures of the northeastern U.S. show the impact of the hurricane-looking storm. (NOAA)
Before and after pictures of the northeastern U.S. show the impact of the hurricane-looking storm. (NOAA)

From the southern United States to the mid-Atlantic and New England a major winter storm has had a wide impact in recent days.  Some areas of the south recorded their first Christmas snow in decades and as the storm moved further northeast it turned into a major blizzard.

Snow fell as far south as Jacksonville, Florida over the holiday and areas further north recorded moderate snowfall.  Huntsville, Alabama saw 6 inches of snow; Raleigh, North Carolina saw 8.5 inches and Gatlinburg, Tennessee recorded 8.0 inches.

Those totals are minimal however to what is being deposited on a large area from New York City to Boston.  Central Park has reported 13 inches and Brooklyn 17.5 inches.  In New Jersey Atlantic City reported 19.0 inches while Foxboro, Massachusetts has seen 11.5 inches.

Travel across the northeastern U.S. came to a standstill as travel by road, rail and air was impacted.  Thousands of flights into and out of the area were canceled as airports in New York and New Jersey shuttered.  Airlines at Denver International Airport were impacted by the storm and its ripple effect.

The nor’easter was imaged this afternoon by NOAA satellites that provided a birds-eye view of the area before and after the storm. 

A furor erupted when the National Football League announced it would postpone the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings and move it to Tuesday.  The league cited concerns for fan safety however many were quick to point out that it is highly unusual for the NFL to postpone a game based on snow of any amount. 

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell told FOX, “It’s an absolute joke. We’re becoming a nation of wussies.”

Slideshow: Blizzard slams U.S. East Coast burying major cities in snow (Examiner.com)Certainly it is hard to see Denver taking similar measures in the face of a snowstorm.  🙂

We have provided complete coverage of the storm on Examiner.com – Please follow the links below for more details:

National Weather

New York City tornadoes confirmed – Rare event also brings 125 mph winds

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In a rare occurrence, two tornadoes struck the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens on Thursday, September 16, 2010.
In a rare occurrence, two tornadoes struck the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens on Thursday, September 16, 2010. View more images in the slideshow below.

Severe weather struck the Big Apple this past Thursday and brought with it only the sixth and seventh tornadoes to strike New York City since record keeping began in 1950.  Accompanying the storms were straight-line winds packing a 125 mph punch. 

Funnel clouds were spotted in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn from the storms that also brought extraordinary winds and driving rain.  The severe thunderstorm toppled trees and power lines and left one woman dead.

The National Weather Service sent a team to look at the damage and determine if the winds were the result of a tornado or straight-line winds.  The answer is that two tornadoes -one an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the other an EF1 – struck Brooklyn and Queens.

In the Park Slope Neighborhood of Brooklyn, the tornado touched down at about 5:33pm and ripped across the cityscape for two miles.  It generated winds of 80mph, an EF0, and had a maximum width of 75 yards. 

Slideshow - Twin tornadoes strike Brooklyn and Queens, New York.The second twister struck the Flushing / Bayside area in Queens and was stronger and longer lived.  That tornado packed winds of 100mph making it an EF1.  It reached a maximum width of 100 yards and was on the ground for four miles.  One fatality is attributed to the twister as Iline Leuakis of Pennsylvania was killed when a tree fell and crushed her car. 

Also notable were significant straight-line winds caused by a macroburst.  In the Middle Village and Forest Hills areas in Queens, winds reaching 125 mph with a path five miles wide and eight miles long contributed to the damage. 

The two tornadoes mark only the sixth and seventh tornadoes to strike in the five counties that make up New York City since 1950 – Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond.  The strongest occurred on August 8, 2007 and was an EF2 that caused nine injuries.

New York City’s Tornadoes – Since 1950

  • 1985-10-05, Queens County, EF1
  • 1990-08-10, Richmond County, EF0
  • 1995-10-28, Richmond County, EF1
  • 2003-10-27, Richmond County, EF0
  • 2007-08-08, Richmond & Kings Counties, EF2
  • 2010-09-16, Kings County, EF0
  • 2010-09-16, Queens County, EF1

Data courtesy the Tornado History Project

Severe Weather

Tornado that struck the Bronx rated an EF-1 with 100mph winds

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A tornado that struck the Bronx in New York was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. (ThorntonWeather.com)
A tornado that struck the Bronx in New York was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. (ThorntonWeather.com)

A common myth is that tornadoes don’t strike cities. That myth was dispelled again this past Sunday when a twister packing 100 mph struck the Bronx in New York.

The tornado, rated an EF-1 by the National Weather Service (NWS), struck at 2:55pm. The service said that at its biggest the twister was 100 yards wide.

Initially touching down on the grounds of the Hebrew Home for the Aged on the east bank of the Hudson River, the tornado tore a path one half mile long. Seven people were injured by the storm and a variety of damage was documented by survey teams.

A flagpole was toppled as were numerous trees. Some large trees were stripped of their leaves.On West 254th Street across Netherlands and Arlington Streets “significant damage occurred.” One residential home sustained roof damage.

The National Weather Service this was only the second tornado to strike the Bronx since 1950. The first occurred on September 2, 1974.

From the National Weather Service:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
216 PM EDT TUE JUL 27 2010

…TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR NORTH RIVERDALE IN BRONX COUNTY NY…

LOCATION…NORTH RIVERDALE IN BRONX COUNTY NY
DATE…JULY 25 2010
ESTIMATED TIME…255 PM TO 300 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF- SCALE RATING…EF1
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED…100 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH…100 YARDS
PATH LENGTH…0.6 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON…40.91N / 73.91W
ENDING LAT/LON…40.90N / 73.90W
* FATALITIES…0
* INJURIES…7

National Weather, Thornton Weather

While the east roasts, the west chills – Record temperatures of both extremes in the U.S.

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Record heat strikes the northeastern U.S. while southern California sees record low maximums. Denver may see its own temperature record today. (Examiner.com)
Record heat strikes the northeastern U.S. while southern California sees record low maximums. Denver may see its own temperature record today. (Examiner.com)

Triple digit heat broiled the northeastern United States on Tuesday while record setting cool weather struck southern California. Denver may be next to see cool temperatures for the record books as the United States experiencing a wide variety of temperatures.

On the East Coast, temperatures exceeding 100 degrees struck from Virginia north to Massachusetts. Many of the temperatures recorded set new high temperature records for the date including:

  • Allentown, PA – 101 degrees (old record 100 degrees set in 1999)
  • Atlantic City, NJ – 102 degrees (old record 99 degrees set in 1999)
  • Baltimore, MD – 105 degrees (old record 101 degrees set in 1999)
  • Newark, NJ – 103 degrees (old record 102 degrees set in 1999)
  • New York City, NY (Central Park) – 103 degrees (old record 101 degrees set in 1999)
  • Philadelphia, PA – 102 degrees (old record 98 degrees set in 1999)
  • Warwick, RI – 102 degrees (old record 97 degrees set in 1999)
  • Wilmington, DE – 103 degrees (old record 98 degrees set in 1999)
  • Windsor Locks, CT – 102 degrees (old record 99 degrees set in 1999)

On the opposite coast of the nation, record low maximum temperatures were recorded from San Diego up to Riverside. Low pressure and a thick marine layer of clouds held temperatures down and residents that would normally be wearing shorts and tank tops traded that clothing for jeans and sweatshirts.

Among the tied or broken record low maximums recorded in southern California on Tuesday were:

  • Escondido – 69 degrees (old record 78 set in 1987)
  • Laguna Beach – 62 degrees (old record 68 set in 1968)
  • Newport Beach – 66 degrees (tied record of 66 last set in 1995)
  • Oceanside Harbor – 62 degrees (old record 65 set in 2002)
  • Riverside – 79 degrees (old record 80 set in 1969)
  • San Diego – 65 degrees (tied record of 65 last set in 1912)

On Wednesday, both the northeastern United States and southern California may see those record-setting temperature trends continue.

Denver also stands a chance to see a record setting low maximum today. The forecast for Denver International Airport where Denver’s official temperature measurements are now taken is for a high of 63 degrees today. The current record low maximum is 65 degrees last set in 1952.  Here in Thornton we will see similar temperatures.

National Weather

Record setting rain in New England causes widespread flooding

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Many rivers were experiencing major (purple) or moderate (red) flooding according to the National Weather Service. (NWS / AHPS)
Many rivers were experiencing major (purple) or moderate (red) flooding according to the National Weather Service. (NWS / AHPS) Click the image for a slideshow of the flooding.

Record breaking rains across the Northeast turned into flooding the likes of which haven’t been seen in the region for more than 100 years. As hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate yesterday, authorities have warned that the worst is yet to come.

Earlier this month many of the same areas were struck by flooding but that event pales in comparison. Rainfall amounts have been staggering in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. From New York to Maine, widespread flooding is expected.

The nation’s smallest state, Rhode Island, has suffered the most with rainfall in some areas approaching 10 inches. 120 homes in Cranston were evacuated and in Warwick 300 apartments and 100 businesses fled the rising floodwaters.

Interstate 95, the main route between Boston and New York was closed and may remain so for days. Amtrak was forced to cancel some train service through the region due to water on its tracks.

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri said, “None of us alive have seen the flooding that we are experiencing now or going to experience. This is unprecedented in our state’s history.”
The governor gave all non-essential state personnel the day off and officials asked schools and businesses to consider closing as well.

The Pawtuxet River crested early Wednesday in Cranston at 20.79 feet – more than 10 feet above flood level and almost six feet above the record level.

Other rivers in the region were already above flood stage and some may not crest for days leading officials to warn that the worst is yet to come. The Charles River in Dover, Massachusetts and Merrimack Basin tributaries in New Hampshire and Massachusetts were at ‘major flood stage’ according to NOAA’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.

State of emergencies were declared in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts and governors in those states called out the National Guard to help with relief and recovery efforts.

President Barack Obama had already declared Major Disasters for Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts from the flooding earlier this month.