National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issued a slew of severe thunderstorm warnings on Friday afternoon for more than 13 million people across the East Coast, including in New York City, as strong winds and dangerous storms barreled through the region.
A large swath of the East Coast is affected by the warning, including much of southeastern New York and nearly all of New Jersey. People were warned to seek shelter immediately.
“For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building,” NWS New York said in its severe thunderstorm warning.
A spokesperson with the NWS office in New York City told Newsweek that wind gusts were between 60 to 70 miles per hour, and that although not completely unheard of, it is “typically unusual” for a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued in New York in December.
The warnings come as the East Coast and mid-Atlantic regions experience strong winds on Friday. The winds are caused by an atmospheric river that impacted the Pacific Northwest earlier in the week and have trekked across the U.S. until they are now exiting into the Atlantic Ocean. Sudden severe thunderstorm warnings gave people minutes to take shelters as meteorologists warned of lightning, hail, and strong winds. The same storm prompted rare December tornado warnings across St. Louis on Thursday.
Strong winds had the capacity of downing power lines and tree limbs.
Other NWS weather alerts in place included a wind advisory, gale warning, special weather statement, and special marine warning, among others.
What Is a Severe Thunderstorm Warning?
NWS meteorologists issue severe thunderstorm warnings when the storms are imminent or already occurring. The warnings alert people within the storm’s path to take shelter immediately until the storm has passed. In some cases, severe thunderstorm warnings can also warn of hail, possible tornados, and lightning strikes.
When NY, NJ and PA Can Expect Thunderstorms
NWS Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued the warnings around 3:15 p.m. Whereas some weather alerts can be issued hours or even days in advance, severe thunderstorms and tornados can spin up quickly, requiring urgency with their messaging.
At 3:40 p.m. Eastern time, the severe storms were expected to be near Newark and Elizabeth, trekking toward Paterson, Passaic, Jersey City, and nearby areas in the following minutes.
A small corner of western Pennsylvania was included within the warning area, although Pennsylvania was not explicitly mentioned within the warning’s text.
NWS New York issued the warning at 3:18 p.m. EST, and it will remain in place 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.
