Tornado touches down in New York City
{{date|August 9, 2007}}
[[Image:Brooklyntornado2007.jpg|thumb|right|175 px|Fallen tree after the tornado.{{Image source|[http://flickr.com/photos/jgny/ Jay Gorman]}}]]
During heavy rainstorms that flooded rail lines and subways, a tornado touched down in [[New York City]], the {{w|National Weather Service}} reports. It sustained winds around 111 mph to 135 mph, causing damage to buildings and vehicles. Starting from the Bay Ridge area, the tornado continued for two miles through [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]]. At least one person was killed. 

The roof of a [[w:Nissan|Nissan]] dealership had been ripped off, as was that of a Brooklyn church. At least 16 homes were damaged. 
[[Image:Brooklyntornado2007_2.jpg|thumb|left|175 px|Car pinned by a fallen tree.{{Image source|[http://flickr.com/photos/jgny/ Jay Gorman]}}]]
Torrential rain had drenched the region early Wednesday, causing delays at {{w|Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark}}, [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|JFK]], and [[LaGuardia Airport|LaGuardia]] airports. Wind and rain caused major slowdowns in the mass transit lines, virtually halting services. 
The brunt of the storm struck the city during morning rush hour, a time when hundreds of thousands of vehicles and people are in transit to work. Police Commissioner [[Raymond Kelly]] said that in some flooded subways, police resorted to crowd control tactics to stop rioting. 
[[Image:Brooklyntornado2007_3.jpg|thumb|right|175 px|Brooklyn home damaged by the storm.{{Image source|[http://flickr.com/photos/jgny/ Jay Gorman]}}]]
Trees were torn from the ground and some cars were crushed.

In a damage assessment tour of Brooklyn, Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] remarked, “I don’t know that God had rush hour in mind when the storms hit.” 

[[Image:Brooklyntornado2007_4.jpg|thumb|left|175 px|Another car crushed by tree limbs.{{Image source|[http://www.flickr.com/people/tmbg37/ tmbg37]}}]]

The {{w|Metropolitan Transit Authority}} expects service to return to normal by Thursday. At a press conference MTA chairman Elliot "Lee" Sander said the pumps located citywide in the rail and subway lines are adequate to handle 1.5 inches of rain per hour. He said the rain, however, came "too fast and with little warning." 

"The storm took us by surprise because it was not predicted by the National Weather Service."

== Sources == 
*{{source|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/local/transportation/am-stor0809,0,5606496.story?coll=ny_entertainment_music_util
|title=Tornado, storm wreaks havoc in NYC
|author=
|pub=Newsday.com
|date=August 9, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20177120/
|title=Storm cripples NYC transit system
|author=MSNBC staff and news service reports 
|pub=MSNBC.com
|date=August 8, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/08/ap3998721.html
|title=Rainstorm, Tornado Warnings in NYC Area
|author=The Associated Press
|pub=FORBES.com
|date=August 8, 2007}}

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[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:New York]]
[[Category:Disasters and accidents]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Michael Bloomberg]]
[[Category:Raymond Kelly]]
[[Category:LaGuardia Airport]]
[[Category:John F. Kennedy International Airport]]
[[Category:New York, New York]]
[[Category:Brooklyn, New York]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]
Fallen tree after the tornado.
During heavy rainstorms that flooded rail lines and subways, a tornado touched down in New York City, the  reports. It sustained winds around 111 mph to 135 mph, causing damage to buildings and vehicles. Starting from the Bay Ridge area, the tornado continued for two miles through Brooklyn. At least one person was killed. 

The roof of a Nissan dealership had been ripped off, as was that of a Brooklyn church. At least 16 homes were damaged. 
Car pinned by a fallen tree.
Torrential rain had drenched the region early Wednesday, causing delays at Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia airports. Wind and rain caused major slowdowns in the mass transit lines, virtually halting services. 
The brunt of the storm struck the city during morning rush hour, a time when hundreds of thousands of vehicles and people are in transit to work. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that in some flooded subways, police resorted to crowd control tactics to stop rioting. 
Brooklyn home damaged by the storm.
Trees were torn from the ground and some cars were crushed.

In a damage assessment tour of Brooklyn, Mayor Michael Bloomberg remarked, “I don’t know that God had rush hour in mind when the storms hit.” 

Another car crushed by tree limbs.

The  expects service to return to normal by Thursday. At a press conference MTA chairman Elliot "Lee" Sander said the pumps located citywide in the rail and subway lines are adequate to handle 1.5 inches of rain per hour. He said the rain, however, came "too fast and with little warning." 

"The storm took us by surprise because it was not predicted by the National Weather Service."
Weather New York Disasters and accidents United States Michael Bloomberg Raymond Kelly LaGuardia Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport New York, New York Brooklyn, New York Tornadoes