Thanks to the wild thunderstorm that pounded the northeast this afternoon, New Yorkers might’ve seen a weather phenomenon that doesn’t appear too often: a funnel cloud.
The National Weather Service’s New York branch confirmed via Twitter that a funnel cloud was spotted over New York Harbor during the storm. Funnel clouds differ from tornados in one very important way: they don’t touch the ground. Or, as The Weather Guys, who report from the University of Wisconsin–Madison put it, “Many tornadoes are at one time funnel clouds, but not all funnel clouds become tornadoes.”
We reviewed pictures and video from New York Harbor, and determined there was a funnel cloud. From the videos we saw, there was no apparent sign of the circulation touching the water.
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) July 17, 2018
While tornados are rare in New York City, they do happen. In 2012, a twister hit south Brooklyn, causing damage to trees and cars across Bay Ridge and Sunset Park. More severe ones hit the same area in 2007 during a storm that also memorably hammered the NYC subway, stopping service for several hours.
The storm that brought the funnel cloud to the city today has lessened in intensity, but rain is still expected in the five boroughs for much of the evening.
And now, some video of this wild occurrence for all the severe weather geeks out there:
A funnel cloud was reported south of Rockaway Beach, NY. Our cameras were rolling to capture the passing storm in time lapse, and voila there it was. #StormWatch #NJwx #NYwx #NJToday #FunnelCloud @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/Qy1loDDOl1
— Dave Curren (@DaveCurren) July 17, 2018
baby Brooklyn tornado @NY1 pic.twitter.com/F83GWuH1oN
— michael uturn (@michaeluturn) July 17, 2018
A waterspout spotted on the New York Harbor as the storm engulfs Lower Manhattan #NYC pic.twitter.com/OuDWxIUBPB
— Max Guliani (@maximusupinNYc) July 17, 2018
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