On a summer Thursday evening, the sky over Long Island's Atlantic Beach reminded its residents that nature observes no season of safety. A tornado — born over open water and drawn toward shore — touched down at 6:50 p.m. at the Sun and Surf Beach Club, the first confirmed twister to strike Nassau County in five years. Roughly 50 cabanas were destroyed, yet by some quiet mercy, only one minor injury was recorded among the many who might have been in its path.
Tornado Confirmed in Atlantic Beach, First in Nassau County Since 2021
One beach club employee suffered a minor head injury and refused medical attention; no serious injuries or casualties reported.
Just by the grace of luck that a lot of people weren't hurt
Mark
Why does it matter that this was the first tornado in Nassau County since 2021? Is that a long time?
Mimi
Five years without a confirmed tornado in a densely populated area is notable. It means people's memory of what these storms do fades. The beach club was packed because it was summer. If this had happened at 7 p.m. on a Saturday instead of Thursday, the injury count could have been very different.
Mark
The fire chief said "luck" twice. What was he really saying?
Mimi
He was saying that the timing and location spared lives by accident, not by preparation. Fifty cabanas destroyed, one person hurt. In a different scenario—if families had been sheltering in those structures, if the warning came later—this becomes a tragedy. He was acknowledging how close they came.
Mark
The tornado formed over the ocean. Does that change how dangerous it is?
Mimi
It changes everything about where it hits and how much warning people get. A waterspout over water is visible, trackable. But the moment it moves onshore, it's on land with buildings and people. This one had maybe fifteen minutes of warning. That's not much.
Mark
Why close the beach clubs if the tornado is over?
Mimi
Structural damage assessment. You can't let people back into buildings until engineers confirm the foundations are sound. A tornado doesn't just destroy what you see—it can weaken supports, crack concrete, make things unsafe in ways that aren't obvious.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The clubs stay closed while they assess and repair. The National Weather Service will continue studying the radar data and video to understand the storm's exact path and intensity. And people in Nassau County will remember this Thursday for a while.
O Pulso
- A waterspout crossed from ocean to land in moments, giving residents barely a 15-minute tornado warning window before it tore through one of the area's most popular summer gathering spots.
- Approximately 50 cabanas at the Sun and Surf Beach Club were damaged or destroyed, and a second circulation was detected a mile east — leaving the community briefly uncertain about whether more storms were still forming.
- First responders shifted quickly from storm damage to flood rescue, pulling people from vehicles trapped in rising waters even as the tornado warning was still in effect.
- A state of emergency was declared Thursday evening and lifted by Friday morning, with beach clubs remaining closed for damage assessment — the community exhaling, but not yet fully at ease.
On a summer Thursday evening, the sky over Long Island's Atlantic Beach reminded its residents that nature observes no season of safety. A tornado — born over open water and drawn toward shore — touched down at 6:50 p.m. at the Sun and Surf Beach Club, the first confirmed twister to strike Nassau County in five years. Roughly 50 cabanas were destroyed, yet by some quiet mercy, only one minor injury was recorded among the many who might have been in its path.
A tornado touched down at Atlantic Beach on Long Island Thursday evening, marking Nassau County's first confirmed twister since 2021. The National Weather Service verified the 6:50 p.m. touchdown at the Sun and Surf Beach Club using radar data, video footage of the waterspout moving inland, and damage reports from the ground.
The storm formed over the ocean before traveling ashore into the southwestern corner of Nassau County. At a Friday morning news conference, County Executive Bruce Blakeman described the damage as extensive while stressing that no serious injuries had occurred. Fire Chief Josiyah Green was more direct about what spared the community from greater harm: "Best I can call it is luck," he said, noting that the beach club draws large summer crowds.
The destruction was concentrated at the club, where roughly 50 cabanas were damaged or destroyed. A single employee suffered a minor head injury and declined treatment. No one was trapped inside the structures. A tornado warning had been issued from approximately 6:45 to 7 p.m., offering a narrow but critical window of alert. A second circulation detected about a mile east raised brief concern but produced no reported damage.
Nassau County declared a state of emergency Thursday evening, lifting it by Friday morning. The Sun and Surf Beach Club and nearby Silver Point remained closed pending assessment. First responders also conducted rescues of people whose vehicles had been caught in floodwaters — a reminder that the storm's reach extended well beyond the cabanas it leveled.
Thursday evening, a tornado touched down at Atlantic Beach on Long Island, the first confirmed twister to strike Nassau County in five years. The National Weather Service confirmed the touchdown at 6:50 p.m. at the Sun and Surf Beach Club, where radar data, video footage of the waterspout moving inland from the ocean, and on-the-ground damage reports provided the evidence needed to verify what had happened.
The tornado had formed over the water and traveled toward shore, making landfall in the Atlantic Beach area of southwestern Nassau County. County Executive Bruce Blakeman addressed the incident at a news conference Friday morning, describing the damage as extensive but noting that no serious injuries had occurred. "Tornadoes form in an instant," Blakeman said. "In this case, it started off over the ocean, worked its way over the land here in Atlantic Beach. And luckily, there were no other tornadoes that popped up here in the region."
The destruction was concentrated at the beach club. According to the Inwood Fire Department, approximately 50 cabanas were damaged or destroyed in the strike. Only one injury was reported: a club employee who suffered a minor head injury and declined medical treatment at the scene. Fire Chief Josiyah Green emphasized the role of chance in preventing a worse outcome. "Best I can call it is luck," he said. "Just by the grace of luck that a lot of people weren't hurt here because this beach club is a very popular place during the summer." No one was trapped in the cabanas, and no rescues from the structures themselves were necessary.
A tornado warning had been issued for parts of the county from approximately 6:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday evening, giving residents a narrow window of alert. The National Weather Service also detected a second circulation about a mile farther east that may have spawned another waterspout in the Atlantic Beach and Five Towns area, though no damage reports were associated with that second formation.
The damage prompted Nassau County officials to declare a state of emergency Thursday evening, which was lifted Friday morning. The Sun and Surf Beach Club and Silver Point, another facility in the area, announced they would remain temporarily closed until further notice as damage assessments continued. Blakeman also noted that first responders had rescued people from vehicles that had become trapped in floodwaters during the event. The incident marked a significant weather event for the region, which had not experienced a confirmed tornado touchdown in Nassau County since 2021.
Citações Notáveis
Tornadoes form in an instant. In this case, it started off over the ocean, worked its way over the land here in Atlantic Beach.— County Executive Bruce Blakeman
Just by the grace of luck that a lot of people weren't hurt here because this beach club is a very popular place during the summer.— Inwood Fire Chief Josiyah Green
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Leia o original em CBS News ↗
Climate & Environment