National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issued a spate of severe thunderstorm warnings on Friday afternoon for over 13 million people along the East Coast, including New York City, as powerful winds and deadly storms rolled across the area.
The warning covers a significant portion of the East Coast, including much of southeastern New York and nearly all of New Jersey. People were advised to seek quick shelter.
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“For your safety, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building,” NWS New York advised in its severe thunderstorm warning.
A spokeswoman for the NWS office in New York City told Newsweek that wind gusts ranged from 60 to 70 miles per hour and that, while not unprecedented, it is “typically unusual” for a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued in New York in December.
The warnings come as heavy winds blow throughout the East Coast and mid-Atlantic on Friday. The winds are the result of an atmospheric river that impacted the Pacific Northwest earlier this week and has since traveled across the United States before moving out into the Atlantic. Meteorologists warned about lightning, hail, and strong winds, so people had minutes to seek shelter. On Thursday, the same storm caused an unusual December tornado warning in St. Louis.
Strong winds had the potential to knock down power lines and tree branches.
Other NWS weather advisories in effect included a wind advisory, gale warning, special weather statement, and special maritime warning, among other things.
What Is a Severe Thunderstorm Warning?
When severe thunderstorms are on their way or have already begun, NWS meteorologists issue severe thunderstorm warnings. The alerts notify those in the storm’s path to seek urgent shelter until the storm passes. Severe thunderstorm warnings can sometimes include warnings for hail, tornadoes, and lightning strikes.
When NY, NJ and PA Can Expect Thunderstorms
Around 3:15 p.m., the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued the alert. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued the alert around 3:15 p.m.
At 3:40 p.m. Eastern time, heavy storms were forecast to pass near Newark and Elizabeth before moving on to Paterson, Passaic, Jersey City, and other neighboring locations.
The warning region covered a small portion of western Pennsylvania, although Pennsylvania was not expressly included in the warning text.
NWS New York issued the warning at 3:18 p.m. EST and will keep it in effect until 4:15 p.m.
“At 314 PM EST, showers with embedded thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 6 miles east of Pecks Pond to Greendell to near Bridgewater to near Windsor, moving east at 50 mph,” the New York warning said.
