Confirmed: A Tornado Ripped Through Queens Last Night
Aug. 3, 2018, 12:18 p.m.
National Weather Service is assessing the damage in College Point and Whitestone to determine if a tornado hit.
A tornado touched down in Queens last night, knocking down trees and powerlines, and damaging cars and homes.
According to a statement from the National Weather Service, the tornado was an EF 0—the weakest category of tornado—with winds reaching 70 to 85 mph. The NWS says the tornado touched down near Saint Fidelis Catholic Church in College Point, and had a path 100 yards wide and three quarters of a mile long.
Here's more from the NWS:
THE TORNADO STRENGTHENED AS IT MOVED TOWARD POWELL'S COVE PARK, WHERE AT LEAST 50 TREES WHERE DOWNED IN A NARROW, CONVERGENT PATTERN HIGHLY INDICATIVE OF A TORNADO. THE TORNADO BRIEFLY MOVED ALONG THE SOUTHERNMOST SHORELINE OF POWELL'S COVE, AND THEN DISSIPATED OVER THE FAR EASTERN END OF THE PARK JUST BEFORE REACHING 138TH STREET. ADDITIONAL STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED FROM THAT POINT EASTWARD TO THE FRANCIS LEWIS PARK NEAR THE WHITESTONE BRIDGE.
Tornado Warning including Queens NY, The Bronx NY, Hicksville NY until 10:45 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/mKcgS04sLM
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) August 3, 2018
The majority of the damage was between College Point and Whitestone, reported CBSNewYork. A ConEd outage map currently shows that 16 customers in Queens are still without power.
A person who answered the phone at Saint Fidelis Catholic Church said they sustained no damage at the church and no injuries were reported.
A massive tree blocks 127th Street is #CollegePoint pic.twitter.com/fDTiimnnV5
— Queens Chronicle (@QueensChronicle) August 3, 2018
126th and 127th streets in #CollegePoint were creamed in the storm. Trees and wires down all over, some are laying on homes and cars. Two witnesses told the paper they thought they saw a tornado. pic.twitter.com/7Pla6PlKS1
— Queens Chronicle (@QueensChronicle) August 3, 2018
Definitely a tornado that came through College Point, Queens earlier tonight. 10 block area of downed trees and power lines. #nywx #CollegePoint pic.twitter.com/cthmaGJJCd
— Nicholas Isabella (@NYCStormChaser) August 3, 2018
Breaking: Probable Tornado in College Point Queens NY. Trees down, power outages.
National Weather Service on scene. Send us your photos.
(Peter Facini, Managing Editor)#weather #breaking #tornando#NYC @fox5ny @mikewoodsfox5 @SamanthaAugeri pic.twitter.com/2n2QsvhEXT— FOX5DESK (@FOX5DESK) August 3, 2018
Last night's storm also disrupted the Beyonce and Jay-Z concert at Metlife stadium. The stadium seating areas were evacuated for an hour, and people were allowed back to their seats at 10:50 p.m. for a late start to the show.
Naturally, some people began feuding on Twitter about why Taylor Swift was able to perform in the rain when Beyonce and Jay-Z were not.
The police came to the show to order everyone they must evacuate, completely different situation .... pic.twitter.com/AKazhrdTAO
— 🐝 (@sean_karter) August 3, 2018