Tornado hits College Point, Whitestone neighborhoods in Queens

On Thursday night, a tornado made its way to Queens just after 10 p.m., ripping through the borough’s College Point and Whitestone neighborhoods.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that the tornado was the weakest category—an EF0—and had a path of 100 yards wide and three-quarters of a mile long (about a nine. However, with wind gusts as strong as 70 to 85 miles per hour, the tornado was powerful enough to cause damage to a few cars and homes, as well as knock out power for some residents and down a few trees, reports Gothamist. The most severe damage was near the St. Fidelis Catholic Church in College Point, and there was even some damage in Jackson Heights, where people reported downed trees near 86th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, says CBS New York.

Here’s what the National Weather Service had to say:

A TORNADO RATED AS EF0 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE, WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OF 70 TO 85 MPH, TOUCHED DOWN NEAR SAINT FIDELIS CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COLLEGE POINT, KNOCKING DOWN NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES AND PEELING SIDING OFF HOUSES ALONG A PATH ABOUT ³⁄₄ OF A MILE LONG AND 100 YARDS WIDE. 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.

MANY THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS AT THE NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR ASSISTANCE IN CONDUCTING THIS DAMAGE SURVEY.

Luckily, no injuries were reported as a result of the tornado and ConEd has been working to get power restored to those who lost power.

Here’s a few tweets that give a look at the damage the Queens has been left with in the aftermath: