We had some excitement a week ago today! On Thursday afternoon, 9/16/10, a "superstorm" hit New York City; later it was confirmed that these storm cells spawned at least two tornadoes (one in Park Slope, Brookyn and one here in Flushing, Queens) and a "Macro Burst" in the Forest Hills/Middle Village (Queens) area.
We were not at home when the storm hit full force; in fact we were in the car on our way to an appointment, so we parked and sat to wait it out! The wind was unbelievably strong, literally rocking the car from side to side, and whipping the trees on the other side of the street! The lightning strikes were coming non-stop, one right after another. By this time, the rain was coming down sideways, and we could no longer see anything out any of the windows; it was like being in a carwash!
Then the rain and wind eased off as suddenly as they had begun, but the crazy, non-stop lightning strikes continued for a while longer. The entire storm had lasted little more than 15 minutes! We were amazed to see all the broken tree limbs all around us; we hadn't been able to see them breaking off, or even hear them, because of the nonstop thunder!
Driving home, it took us nearly two hours to travel what was normally a 15 minute trip. Traffic was abnormally heavy, and we discovered many of the side streets on our usual route had been blocked by fallen trees. We were hearing accounts on the radio of closures on the major highways with resulting heavy volume on local streets, compounded by the fallen trees there as well! We turned down one street after another, only to find our passage blocked! It seemed the closer we got to home, the worse the damage we were seeing. I was getting frantic by the time we finally made it - and to our immense relief, we saw all was well with our property! There didn't seem to be any major damage immediately around us, except for a few downed limbs. Later I saw there was one damaged car, hit by a falling limb, but thankfully no damage to my closest neighbors' homes!
The next morning (9/17/10) I took a walk around the neighborhood to survey the damage. On my short 30 minute daily walk route, I was dismayed to see the extent of the damage within that small area. Here are some of the photos I took that morning:
One of the first things I saw was the damage to my favorite elm tree near the Kissena Park ballfields. I have photographed many a beautiful sunrise through the now-downed branches of this tree:We were not at home when the storm hit full force; in fact we were in the car on our way to an appointment, so we parked and sat to wait it out! The wind was unbelievably strong, literally rocking the car from side to side, and whipping the trees on the other side of the street! The lightning strikes were coming non-stop, one right after another. By this time, the rain was coming down sideways, and we could no longer see anything out any of the windows; it was like being in a carwash!
Then the rain and wind eased off as suddenly as they had begun, but the crazy, non-stop lightning strikes continued for a while longer. The entire storm had lasted little more than 15 minutes! We were amazed to see all the broken tree limbs all around us; we hadn't been able to see them breaking off, or even hear them, because of the nonstop thunder!
Driving home, it took us nearly two hours to travel what was normally a 15 minute trip. Traffic was abnormally heavy, and we discovered many of the side streets on our usual route had been blocked by fallen trees. We were hearing accounts on the radio of closures on the major highways with resulting heavy volume on local streets, compounded by the fallen trees there as well! We turned down one street after another, only to find our passage blocked! It seemed the closer we got to home, the worse the damage we were seeing. I was getting frantic by the time we finally made it - and to our immense relief, we saw all was well with our property! There didn't seem to be any major damage immediately around us, except for a few downed limbs. Later I saw there was one damaged car, hit by a falling limb, but thankfully no damage to my closest neighbors' homes!
The next morning (9/17/10) I took a walk around the neighborhood to survey the damage. On my short 30 minute daily walk route, I was dismayed to see the extent of the damage within that small area. Here are some of the photos I took that morning:
A big old willow downed!
And tree tops just snapped off!
A large sycamore had crashed into the fence of the ballfield
on Booth Memorial Ave near Kissena Blvd
More tree tops snapped off near the park:
Walking along Kissena Blvd back toward my street,
I saw sights like this:
A commercial block on Kissena Blvd,
between 59-60 Avenues:
My street @ the corner of Kissena Blvd:
My street:
Main Street near the Long Island Expressway (LIE):
The next day was Saturday (9/18/10), so Bob and I had time to explore the area more fully. We decided the best way to do this would be on our bikes. This is what we saw along other streets in our neighborhood:
Queens Botanic Garden:
In Flushing Meadow Park, we saw this strange sight!!
Only a Twister could have bent a tree like this
without breaking it in two!!
Another favorite tree, often photographed in various seasons,
not so pretty now:
Flushing Meadow Park ballfield damaged by uprooted trees:
Jewel Avenue:
147 Street going toward Melbourne Ave:
This house was hit by two fallen trees!
In the afternoon we went out biking again, this time to explore more of Kissena Park, including the Historical Grove that I love so much:
Hit by Lightning
Near the pond:
Disbelief at what they were seeing!
Another often-photographed tree, my favorite Black Locust:
Willow Lane:
On the otheer side of Main Street,
five toppled sycamores in a row:
Evidence in many areas that clean-up had begun:
Sunday (9/19/10), Flushing Meadow Park:
Colden Ave Community Garden:
Kissena Park west of Kissena Blvd
Tangle of Broken Branches
AND YET....amidst all the damage and destruction,
we still found beauty in the park!!
At Kissena Park pond, a pair of Monarch Butterflies were
busily working the Cup Plant Flowers:
And this turtle, sunning on his rock, was oblivious to anything amiss!
Evidence that ... no matter what ... life goes on!!!!
* * * * * *
Some Before & After Shots
My three favorite trees, often photographed, all now damaged!
Kissena Park Elm
Kissena Park Black Locust
Flushing Meadow Tree by the Lake
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