What to Know
- After bracing for potentially severe storms — including tornadoes in multiple counties — most of the area didn't see much intense action
- Tornado warnings were issued in Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey, and Sullivan County in New York, but all expired before 11 p.m.
- As of 11 p.m. no reports of damage had come in, according to the National Weather Service
After much of the tri-state braced for potentially severe storms — even on the lookout for tornadoes in multiple counties — most of the area didn't see much intense action.
The severe storms Storm Team 4 had been tracking moved across the Northeast, threatening the region with destructive winds, damaging hail and torrential rain. Tornado warnings were issued Thursday night in Sussex and Warren Counties in New Jersey, as well as Sullivan County in New York. But most places saw just some bouts of heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Central and northern New Jersey looked to be most at risk for the severe weather. Scattered thunderstorms passed through the state between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., but the damaging conditions never came, Storm Team 4 says.
As of 11 p.m. no reports of damage had come in, according to the National Weather Service.
All tornado warnings expired by 10:30 p.m.
A tornado did touch down outside of Baltimore, Maryland, Thursday afternoon. An EF1 tornado was confirmed by the NWS, tearing off part of a roof and snapping a number of trees. There were no reports of injuries.
Local
The first wave of heavy rain hit New York City and the surrounding area around 4 p.m., as the storms moved swiftly from west to east with the most intense weather going just south of the city in New Jersey.
There were multiple reports of lightning strikes all over the region during the evening rush hour, and reports of electrical wires down in Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County, where more than 2,300 people were said to be without power.
Airports around New York City did experience delays during rush hour, with Newark Airport dealing with delays of nearly three hours. Laguardia and JFK Airports each had backups of at least an hour.
The stronger storms were expected to show up in the area later in the evening, but were smaller and more isolated, with the city seeing very few of the effects.
The storms came from eastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, then pushed into northern New Jersey before they move on to New York City and Long Island afterward.
Track the storms using our interactive radar below and scroll down to the bottom of this page to track real-time commute updates from all your key transit sources.
Storm Team 4 said the storms were part of the same system that spurred a tornado in Missouri's capital city overnight, killing at least three people and injuring nearly two dozen others.
Most of the rain moved out of the tri-state before midnight, with conditions clearing up quickly overnight, paving the way for a gorgeous and breezy Friday with a high around 74 degrees, Storm Team 4 says.
And there's more good news: Memorial Day weekend, at least the first two days of it, is forecast to be absolutely beautiful. Saturday will be the best day, with temps around 70 and mostly sunny skies. The mercury soars near 90 degrees on Sunday, though there will be some clouds. Monday cools down into the high 70s, with a chance for some afternoon storms to cap off the holiday weekend.
