BOROUGHWIDE — A flash storm with extreme winds hit Brooklyn Friday night, breaking grown trees in half, damaging cars and swirling debris into the sky.
“It looked like a mini-tornado,” said a resident of the Whitman Owner tower on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, describing tree branches swirling outside their 23rd-story windows. Hannah, a Clinton Street resident, said she saw construction materials flying in the air.
A large tree on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights did some damage to a car. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
Numerous Brooklyn Heights residents said their power blinked just as the storm hit. According to NBC, wind gusts hit 80 mph.
On Saturday morning, the sound of wood chippers could be heard across Brooklyn, and car owners were out early taking photos of their damaged vehicles for insurance claims.
Parks Department crews were busy Saturday morning cleaning up fallen trees across Brooklyn. Above: Parks workers collect pieces of a fallen tree on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
Large tree trunks fell across Pierrepont, Remsen, Clinton and Joralemon streets in Brooklyn Heights. A Parks Department employee told the Brooklyn Eagle that the area had experienced a “microburst.”
Large segments of a tree broke off and fell on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights during Friday’s storm. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
According to the National Weather Service, a microburst is a sudden, highly concentrated downdraft of sinking air within a thunderstorm. When the cool air hits the ground, it produces intense, damaging winds that can exceed 100 mph.
A NYC Parks Department worker surveys the damage on Remsen Street after Friday night’s sudden storm. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
While trees across the city were hit hard, according to New York City data, 311 logged 100 calls from Brooklyn regarding damaged trees from Friday to Sunday. Nine damaged trees were reported in Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. Damaged trees were reported on Parade Place near Prospect Park, on Flatbush Avenue in Ditmas Park, on Parkville Avenue and East Third Street in Kensington, on East Eighth and East Ninth streets in Manhattan Terrace, on Avenue H in Flatlands, and many more.
A large tree in Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn broke at its base and fell during Friday’s high winds. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
A tree fell in the South Slope near 17th Street, and three came down on First Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, according to commenters on Next Door. “It was like a mini-hurricane,” one wrote.
A large tree broke in half in Cadman Park in Downtown Brooklyn, and several were down in Prospect Park, according to Sanitation workers.
The top branches of a large tree that blew over Friday night in Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
The strong winds also took down some of the grandstands on Governors Island, which had been set up for the Parade of Sail event. The $200 Premier Access viewing area was so damaged by the storm that it had to be closed, according to event organizer Sail4th.
The top branches of a large tree that blew over Friday night in Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
“After assessing the site, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Premier Access viewing … in the interest of the safety of our guests and staff,” Sail4th said in a release. The organization said it was working on refunds.
The city’s 311 portal logged 100 calls from Friday to Sunday regarding damaged trees in Brooklyn. Other boroughs also suffered tree damage. Map: NYC
To report a damaged or downed tree, call 311 or visit the NYC Parks Department website.