Event Summary

As Hurricane Isabel moved northwest toward the southern Mid Atlantic States, a strong high pressure system built over Northern New England. As the pressure gradient increased, strong northeast winds developed across the region Thursday, September 18th. Hurricane Isabel made landfall near Drum Inlet, North Carolina at 1 pm on the eighteenth. As Isabel accelerated toward the north northwest, tropical storm force winds rapidly expanded north. Tropical storm force winds of 39 miles per hour (mph) occurred across parts of Nassau County, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island from Thursday evening through Thursday night. Across Rockland, Westchester, and Suffolk Counties, east winds were sustained between 25 and 35 mph with peak gusts between 35 and 45 mph. When strong winds were accompanied by bands of heavy showers, many trees, tree limbs, and power lines were downed across the region. The greatest damage occurred from Nassau County west across Staten Island. These strong winds resulted in 1 death and 2 injuries: A 42 year old male police officer drowned while body surfing in high surf off Long Beach in Nassau County around 6 pm on the 18th. A large tree limb fell through the driver's car door and speared a man while driving through Great Neck Estates at the Intersection of Bayview Ave. and Glenview Drive in Nassau County. This resulted in a critical injury. A 47 year old male was struck in the head by a fallen tree branch at the intersection of Andrews Ave. and University Ave. in the Bronx around 9 pm on the 18th. This resulted in a serious head injury. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation provided this information: In Queens, 259 trees were downed and 350 tree limbs were downed. In Brooklyn, 197 trees were downed and 268 tree limbs were downed. In Staten Island, 97 trees were downed and 74 tree limbs were downed. In the Bronx, 54 trees were downed and 64 tree limbs were downed. In Manhattan, 33 trees were downed and 45 tree limbs were downed. Here are selected wind velocity measurements across the region: In Queens, the Automated Surface Observing Systems at: LaGuardia Airport measured a sustained 2 minute wind velocity of 40 mph from 120 degrees at 2:36 am EDT on the 19th with a peak gust to 51 mph from 120 degrees at 1:20 am EDT on the 19th. JFK Airport measured a sustained 2 minute wind velocity of 40 mph from 100 degrees at 4:02 am EDT on the 19th with a peak gust to 49 mph from 80 degrees at 12:05 am on the 19th. At the Ambrose Light C-MAN Station, the highest wind velocity measured at a height of 29 meters was a sustained 39 knot speed at 7 pm on the 18th with a peak gust to 44 knots. In Nassau County, sustained wind speeds were measured at 10 pm EDT by an Automated Weather Station at 38 mph with a peak gust to 50 mph at Long Beach High School. The Long Island Power Authority reported 41,599 power outages across Nassau County. In Brooklyn, a peak wind gust to 47 mph was measured by an Automated Weather Station at the New Utrecht High School. Three sides of a brick facade blew out along an exterior wall at Cinema World Studios in Green Point. In Manhattan, a peak wind gust to 46 mph was measured by an Automated Weather Station at the Manhattan Center for Science and Math.