What to Know
- Severe storms with dangerous winds pounded parts of the tri-state area Friday evening; hails and tornadoes are possible
- Tornado warnings were issued for parts of the Hudson Valley
- Temperatures soared to the mid-80s ahead of Friday's storms; the weekend turns a bit cooler but much clearer
Severe storms moved into northern parts of the tri-state area Friday evening, some of which brought destructive winds, frequent lightning and heavy rain.
A tornado warning had been issued for Ulster County in New York until 8 p.m., while a tornado watch was issued for Dutchess and Ulster counties until 10 p.m. Northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley are at the greatest risk for potential tornadoes Friday night, though the overall threat of that remains low. Even absent a tornado, the storms will likely cause wind damage northwest of New York City.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect throughout the evening for New York's Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties, along with Fairfield County in Connecticut. Dangerous winds above 60 mph whipped through Carmel, New York and across state lines into Danbury, knocking down trees and power lines in Putnam and Ulster counties in the process.
The storms first started making their way into the region after 5 p.m. The city and coastal areas were largely spared by the severe weather later in the night, with just some rain and far weaker isolated thunderstorms passing through late Friday into early Saturday.
Check the latest severe weather alerts for your neighborhood here.
Less than a week after record cold nights and early mornings, temperatures swung to the other end of the spectrum and fell a little short of Central Park's record high for this time of year, 90 degrees. New York City saw temps hit 84 degrees by 4 p.m., making Friday its hottest day of 2020 thus far.
The muggy humidity and soaring temperatures paved the way for the severe weather later in the day.
Local
The storms move out overnight into Saturday, clearing the way for a partly cloudy day with highs around 78 degrees with less humid conditions. Sunday turns a bit cooler, back to the mid-60s, and cloudier ahead of more rain expected early next week.
