New York City facing threat of 60-mph winds, tornadoes

Severe thunderstorms are barreling toward New York City and could slam the metro area Saturday evening with damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes, experts warn.

“I-95 corridor, prepare yourself — 40-60 mph winds and tornadoes can’t be ruled out,” said FOX Weather Meteorologist Amy Freeze.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center upgraded the severe weather risk for a large swath of the Northeast to a Level 3 of 5 severe weather outlook.

The nasty storm is moving from Ohio and is expected to hit hardest the New York area about 30 miles north northwest of Albany NY to 20 miles southwest of Islip NY.

The center’s potential “primary threats” include hail, damaging wind gusts to 65 mph and a “tornado or two.”

The storm — which will likely last from 5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday — follows a day where New York City began with light rain before enjoying several hours of clear skies and temperates reaching high temperatures.

“You get a surge of the warmth coming in and a little sunshine; it’s not a complete bust of a day,” Freeze said. “With temperatures reaching the 60s and 70s, this might be comfortable. But don’t let your guard down.”

Fox Weather

The warm air along with twisting winds will add fuel to the storms racing east out of Ohio, further developing potential for damaging winds, according to the FOX Weather Center.

Further severe weather watches could be issued as the storm progresses into the night.

“In the Northeast, a lot of people are going to be waking up (Saturday) morning, they’re going to see the severe weather images we’re talking about,” Freeze said.

New York City, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware are most at risk for Tornadoes. Fox Weather

“Then their day is going to start, maybe even see a little sunshine. The important message is: The low pressure itself that’s driving this energy force has not yet crossed into the Northeast (Saturday morning) – you’ve got to wait for that later (Saturday.)” 

The storms have already caused damage in Ohio and Pennsylvania, particularly around the Cleveland and Pittsburgh metro areas.

More than 800,000 outages were in the eastern half of the country.

In the south, a separate powerful storm ripped through the South and Midwest Friday.

At least three people were killed and dozens hospitalized after tornados level buildings and overturned cars.

https://newzander.com/2023/04/01/new-york-city-facing-threat-of-60-mph-winds-tornadoes/