SPLIT TOPIC: Tornado hits Brooklyn! (PH/CH)

holy sh!t it was crazy outside----------

that was awesome

Yup, I'm in Jamaica queens ....if I was a weather guy I could confirm. Swirly rain with lightning and wind, 4 bolts of lightning at once as I run for Train

* AT 540 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE
HAIL...AND DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH. THESE STORMS
WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM CANARSIE TO CONEY
ISLAND...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM CROWN HEIGHTS TO CONEY
ISLAND...AND MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
KENNEDY AIRPORT...WOODMERE...VALLEY STREAM...CEDARHURST...
LYNBROOK...ATLANTIC BEACH...HEMPSTEAD...LONG BEACH...OCEANSIDE...
BALDWIN...FREEPORT...LIDO BEACH...LEVITTOWN...WANTAGH...MASSAPEQUA
AND FARMINGDALE

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

DOPPLER RADAR HAS INDICATED SOME WEAK ROTATION WITHIN THIS STORM.
WHILE NOT IMMEDIATELY LIKELY...A TORNADO MAY STILL DEVELOP. IF A
TORNADO IS SPOTTED...ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A
STURDY STRUCTURE...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.

&&

LIRR service suspended!

Subject: Tornado touched down near Central Library

Several large trees fell out of the park and onto Flatbush Avenue. Firefighters are on the scene trying to cut a passenger out of one of the cars and Flatbush Avenue is blocked for traffic. Scary stuff!

wow. I think the storm just picked up this thread and moved it from Park Slope to Prospect Heights.

Sorry, 4 threads instantly were posted as people felt the storm, I merged into one discussion & globaled. -M

MOD NOTE: Threads have been resplit into separate Park Slope and PH/CH threads.
-C

http://twitpic.com/2p2j3n

underhill at st. marks is totally blocked by broken tree limbs. one car is crushed. very scary.

http://twitpic.com/2p2jsx

Kelton Flencher wrote: Tree down on 11th btw 5/6. FYI

Can't blame this one on Steve Maynard.

Dean Street is a parking lot from at least Vanderbilt to Flatbush. It's gonna be a mess for hours.

It passed right over us (just off Washington on Sterling) and made a mess of our backyard.

http://rockuboff.tumblr.com/post/1133792556/from-our-office

brooklynleather, amazing video. Hope you and your camera are ok.

Sky turned green in north/central Crown Heights near Dean Street and Brooklyn Avenue. Incredible rain and wind -- really felt like it passed over here too.

Im ok! It wasn't my footage--yes passing it along.

The aftermath of this storm must be Brooklyn's most documented by a mile. The street flickers with flashbulbs. Here is a video of Vanderbilt during the storm:

Several huge trees were uprooted on Plaza Street and Flatbush and Vanderbilt Avenues. Two tress in front of Home Heating oil were snapped in half.

Big Ol' Tree down on St John's between Bedford and Rogers. Hit a moving car and smashed out the back window. Jeez.

Photos from Carlton:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28363759@N08/sets/72157624846961473/

Pictures:

These two pics are of a tree that was on top of our car on corner of Dean and Carlton, luckily we were able to move the car without any damage:






Dean Playground:










Tree down on a brownstone on Carlton between Dean and Bergen:




More trees down along Carlton:

As quickly as it started, it stopped. DAMN, that was freaky! Pitch black, sirens, then sheets of rain (coming in through my just-opened windows as well)...and to top it off, hail. Then, it just stopped. Whoa.

....and I thought tree branch breaker Steve was a menace. Damn

I was in the park when it hit (yes, I'm just that stupid). The rain felt like stones at my back and the wind came close to knocking me down a few times. And of course once I got to the safety of the tunnel I couldn't get home because it was blocked by a tree and the path to the other tunnel was blocked by bigass branches and the exit end of the other tunnel was flooded although at the point getting my feetsies wet was kind of beside the point. Miraculously, no water in the windows I left open.

the triangle at underhill/washington/pacific is devastated. so much damage to trees, it's heartbreaking.

I'll need a new roof hatch. I hear from my tenants its gone into my next door neighbors lot but i haven't seen those folks in a while.

The poor trees.

what can we do to help repair and replant our beautiful trees? i need a new project - how can we help with this?

SMW: Good on yer for stepping up to the plate! Check in with the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. They can offer lots of advice as well as hook you up with a local project called Prospect Heights Trees, aka Prospect Heights Urban Forest Initiative.

There's also a "Citizen Pruner" course that just started at Borough Hall. Not sure about the details or whether one can join at this point but I daresay this storm will be top of their agenda at the next class.