New Yorkers braced for possible tornado activity Saturday afternoon in the midst of severe thunderstorms surging toward Long Island all while delivering strong wind gusts and hail through much of New Jersey and New York City.
Parts of Long Island were under a tornado warning for almost two hours, with the last warning ending around 4:30 p.m.
No tornados have been confirmed yet for Nassau or Suffolk County, but a number of New Yorkers on the island saw powerful winds that knocked down trees and crushed at least one car and went through a house in Levittown.
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The first signs of Saturday's destructive storms hit New Jersey around lunchtime, bringing blustery conditions strong enough to knock out power to more than 10,000 customers. Shortly thereafter, a thunderstorm watch had been triggered for most of the tri-state through 7 p.m.
Rain and hail thrashed most of the Garden State as severe storm warnings were triggered for its neighbors in New York. Whether New Yorkers were prepared for what came next, that's yet to be seen.
Check the latest severe weather alerts for your neighborhood here.
The potential threats in Saturday storms are wide ranging. Forecasts called for the possibility of destructive winds, quarter sized hail, and a tornado. The latter threated Long Island; both Nassau and Suffolk County were issued a tornado warning until 3:45 p.m.
The afternoon system lived up to its forecast, moving east quickly and taking its potentially destructive winds and lightning out of New York City and toward Long Island by the late afternoon.
Most counties in central and northern New Jersey and New York City were under a severe thunderstorm warning around 2 p.m.
A ground stop was also ordered at all local airports until 3:30 p.m. due to the severe weather.
Higher elevation areas north and west of the city could see some snow mixed in, though New York City isn't expected to see anything but rain. Then colder air fills in behind the system.
Temperatures plunge into the 30s overnight with wind chills in the 20s by Sunday morning. Highs aren't even expected to reach 50 degrees, and that cooler stretch continues at least through Tuesday of next week.
More rain is possible late Sunday into Monday morning, along with some potentially measurable snow for parts of some northwestern spots in Sullivan and Ulster counties and into the Catskills. Once again, the city will see just some light rain.
We do get a warm-up next week, though, as temperatures climb to the mid-50s Wednesday and could hit 60 degrees again Thursday, while remaining at or around 50 degrees through next weekend, according to Storm Team 4.
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