2007 Brooklyn Tornado
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The 2007 Brooklyn tornado, an
EF2 Elongation factors are a set of proteins that function at the ribosome, during protein synthesis, to facilitate translational elongation from the formation of the first to the last peptide bond of a growing polypeptide. Most common elongation ...
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
, was the strongest tornado on record to strike
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
since documentation began in 1950. It formed in the early morning hours of August 8, 2007, skipping along an approximately -long path, from
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
across
The Narrows The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay (of larger New York Bay) and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Ri ...
to
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. The worst damage was in and around Sunset Park and
Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...
, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. The U.S.
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
estimated its strength there as an EF2 on the
Enhanced Fujita scale The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...
. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of the tornado, but several people were treated at area hospitals for flying glass injuries. At least 40 buildings and 100 cars were damaged.
New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
Martin Golden’s office estimated damage in the tens of millions of U.S. dollars. The storm system produced severe street flooding, and disrupted all modes of transportation throughout the city. Service was delayed or suspended on all 24
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
services during the morning
rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...
, and nine services were still not running by the evening rush.


Timeline

The typical summer storm system that spawned the tornado gathered strength over
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, caused heavy rain over
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and continued its eastward movement, reaching New York City at sunrise. According to the National Weather Service, the first tornado first touched down in Staten Island at approximately 6:22 am EDT (1022 UTC) in the vicinity of St. Austins Place in the Livingston -
Randall Manor Randall Manor is a neighborhood on the North Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, United States. The neighborhood is bound by Bard Avenue to the West, Henderson Avenue to the North, Forest Avenue to the South, and L ...
area, before moving east, with additional damage occurring in the
Tompkinsville Tompkinsville may refer to: *Tompkinsville, Kentucky *Tompkinsville, Maryland *Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York ** Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station) {{geodis ...
area, probably from a subsequent tornado that formed from a new area of circulation just north of the first tornado. Most of the damage on Staten Island was to trees, and was rated EF1 intensity with estimated winds of . The circulation intensified, and headed east across
The Narrows The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay (of larger New York Bay) and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Ri ...
tidal strait A tidal strait is a strait through which a tidal current flows. Tidal currents are usually unidirectional but sometimes are bidirectional. Tidal straits, though they are narrow seaways, are technically not rivers. They are frequently of tectonic ...
, just north of the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ; also referred to as the Narrows Bridge, the Verrazzano Bridge, and simply the Verrazzano) is a suspension bridge connecting the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It span ...
, and the tornado re-developed and touched down again in Brooklyn, at Bay Ridge at 6:32 am EDT. It continued on an east-northeast path across 68th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues, damaging the roofs of 11 homes. The storm continued to move east-northeast into Leif Ericson Park Square, where severe damage to trees occurred, and where winds blew out a stained glass window valued at $300,000 at the nearby Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church. It then crossed the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The tornado touched down farther northeast with scattered tree damage along Sixth Avenue. Based on the assessed damage this stage of the tornado was classified EF2 with wind speeds of . The tornado returned to the ground with another pocket of significant damage on 58th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Roofs were ripped off 5 homes, with tree damage indicating strong EF1 damage. The tornado then headed east and touched down again in
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
and the
Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...
neighborhood of
Prospect Park South Prospect Park South is a small neighborhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, located south of Prospect Park. It is included within the Prospect Park South Historic District, which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservati ...
at approximately 6:40 am EDT. Approximately 30 trees were uprooted along Ocean Parkway. The National Weather Service had issued a
tornado warning A tornado warning ( SAME code: TOR) is a public warning that is issued by weather forecasting agencies to an area in the direct path of a tornado, or a severe thunderstorm capable of producing one, and advises individuals in that area to take c ...
for portions of Staten Island and Brooklyn at 6:28 am. Tornado warnings were also briefly issued for eastern Brooklyn and Southern
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
and Nassau County on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, but no tornadoes were reported in those areas.


Media coverage

New York media coverage of the event focused on the novelty of the event and its disruption of subway service (this was the third time in 2007 when heavy rain had caused disruptions in subway service).


Tabloids

The ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' and ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' tabloids both ran the front-page headline “Twister!” The main article in the ''Daily News'' was headlined “Brooklyn becomes Tornado Alley!” with a subheading of “First twister to rip through boro since 1889; S.I. driver dies”. The main article inside the Post read: “Brooklyn Cyclone” (playing on the pun of the famous
Coney Island Cyclone The Cyclone, also called the Coney Island Cyclone, is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010), Luna Park in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan (coaster designer), Vernon Kee ...
in Brooklyn and the baseball team of the same name). The teaser on the front page depicted
Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most o ...
from ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...
'' proclaiming “This ain't
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
”. An inside side bar in the Post had eyewitness accounts headlined “Wet & Wild”. The
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
based ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
'' front-page headline was "What’s Up With the Weather? – LI Drenched Again – Tornado in City – Subways Swamped."


Broadsheets

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' front page main headline was “Subways to Rooftops, a Storm Brings Havoc to New York” The three front-page stories were headlined “Transportation Paralysis”, "Déjà vu Down Under", "Yes a Tornado in Brooklyn." ''The New York Times'' quoted an eyewitness, who said, "It was a funnel shape...It looked kind of black and blue...it was way up high and came right down on the roof of (a department store)...Pieces of the roof were all over the place. It was a big bang." ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...
'' read: “It’s Frustrating, It’s Insanity” with a subhead “Anger Erupts At Subway; Tornado Hits”.


Global warming

The press coverage also examined the link between the storm and
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
, given the tornado's historic nature, and the other recent subway service interruptions caused by torrential rain on July 18 and the previous winter. Official statements alluded to this as well. "We may be dealing with meteorological conditions that are unprecedented," said
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...
Executive Director Elliot G. Sander in the immediate aftermath, and New York Governor
Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...
said the day after, "This is supposed to be a rainfall event that is a once-in-a-decade occurrence – we've had three in the past seven months."
Climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric ...
James E. Hansen of the
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Goddard Institute for Space Studies The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center affiliated with the Columbia University Earth Institute. The institute is located at Columbia University in Ne ...
at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in New York City cautioned against linking any single event with global warming, but did say that the probability of severe weather events is related. "You cannot blame a single specific event, such as this week's storm, on climate change. However, it is fair to ask whether the human changes have altered the likelihood of such events. There the answer seems to be 'yes.'", he was quoted as saying.


See also


Other tornadoes

There were five previous tornadoes in New York City on record, but none as strong as this one. The New York City
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
of
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
has had the most tornadoes on record of any of the five boroughs, with a total of three, all since 1990. Meteorologists believed this storm produced the first tornado in Brooklyn since 1889, before reliable records were kept. The five previous twisters on record are: *October 27, 2003 — An F0 tornado touches down briefly in Staten Island *October 28, 1995 — An F1 tornado touches down in Staten Island with light damage *August 10, 1990 — An F0 tornado on Staten Island injures three people *October 5, 1985 — An F1 tornado in Fresh Meadows Park,
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
injures six people. *September 2, 1974 — An F1 tornado moved from Westchester into
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...


Other links

*
List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred in North America. #''The listing is U.S.-centric, with greater and more consistent information available for U.S. tornadoes. Some North America ...
*
List of tornadoes striking downtown areas This article is a list of tornadoes that have impacted the central business district (downtown or city center) of a large city (that is, one having at least 50,000 people, not counting suburbs or outlying communities, at the time of the storm). ...
*
Tornadoes of 2007 This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks that occurred in 2007, primarily (but not entirely) in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally, particularly in parts of neighb ...


References


External links


Public Information Statement...Revised, Tornado Damage Survey, National Weather Service, Upton NY, issued 2:32 PM EDT Tuesday August 14, 2007A Tree Blows Down in Brooklyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooklyn Tornado F2, EF2 and IF2 tornadoes Tornadoes of 2007 Tornadoes in New York (state) 2000s in Brooklyn 2007 natural disasters in the United States Natural disasters in New York City 2007 in New York City August 2007 in the United States