The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for parts of New York and New Jersey until 5 p.m. on Monday.
The watch includes the five boroughs along with Rockland, Putnam and Westchester counties, and all of New Jersey.
As of 3 p.m., the watch remains in effect for the following areas in New York:
- New York
- Albany
- Columbia
- Dutchess
- Fulton
- Greene
- Hamilton
- Herkimer
- Montgomery
- Rensselaer
- Saratoga
- Schenectady
- Schoharie
- Ulster
- Warren
- Washington
This includes the cities of: Albany, Amsterdam, Arlington. Athens, Beacon, Cairo, Cambridge, Catskill, Cobleskill. Coxsackie, Dolgeville, Fort Edward, Frankfort, Glens Falls. Gloversville, Granville, Greenwich, Herkimer, Hudson. Hudson Falls, Ilion, Jefferson Heights, Johnstown, Kingston. Little Falls, Middleburgh, Mohawk, New Paltz, Poughkeepsie. Rotterdam, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, speculator, Troy. Wellsville, West Glens Falls and Whitehall.
Forecasters expected an intense cold front to move across the region Monday afternoon and evening, bringing heavy thunderstorms, gusty winds over 30 mph at times and at least 1 to 3 inches of rain. Wind gusts may also reach up to 75 mph.
Similar watches were also issued in cities along the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia.
Tornadoes, nature's most violent storms, spawn from powerful thunderstorms and can cause massive destruction within seconds. Tornadoes start off a rotating, funnel-shaped clouds that extend from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 mph.
According to Ready.gov, "Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Some tornadoes are clearly visible, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others. Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado."
A watch is less urgent than a tornado warning and implies that weather conditions are favorable for a tornado.
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