An update to the story . . . contains some descriptions/pictures that definately sound like a tornado.
Probable Tornado Rocks Southern Westchester County
Westchester OEM: Avoid Route 9A/Saw Mill Corridor
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK A probable tornado touched down northeast of Tarrytown in Westchester County on Wednesday afternoon, causing significant damage.
CBS 2 meteorologist John Bolaris reports witnesses on the ground seeing water spouts, which are tornadoes over water, as the fast-moving storm headed toward Hawthorne just after 3:40 p.m. The U.S. Coast Guard later reported a water spout over Long Island Sound. Despite those reports, the National Weather Service has yet to officially confirm a tornado.
In the wake of the storm, Westchester County opened its Emergency Operations Center Wednesday afternoon. Staff from Westchester County's Department of Public Safety, Emergency Services, Public Works and other major county departments were called in to deal with the response.
There was a partial building collapse with some people trapped for a time at a warehouse in Hawthorne. The owner of the building told CBS 2's Scott Weinberger that all the workers were accounted for and there was one minor injury.
"The building started to shake and the sky got pitch black," the owner said. "Bricks started flying by my car. I've never see anything like that before."
The storm knocked out power to thousands of Westchester residents, said Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert, who said hundreds of Con Ed workers are assessing damages in Tarrytown, Pleasantville and central Westchester, east of Tarrytown. Olert told CBS 2 that hundreds of tress are down. Many have power lines tangled in them. Con Ed is urging anyone who sees a downed power line not to go near it.
The Saw Mill Parkway is closed at the Eastview exit in Hawthorne. Neil Sweeting of the Westchester County Office of Emergency Management said drivers should avoid the area of Route 9A and Saw Mill for the time being. There are reports of flipped over cars on 9A.
The weather knocked down trees, causing some damage to houses and closing roads. There are also reports of damage in Valhalla and Mt. Pleasant.
MetroNorth spokesman Dan Brucker said the violent storm caused Metro North to suspend service -- after two trees fell, blocking both tracks of the Upper Harlem Line between the Valhalla and Hawthorne stations. Trains resumed moving on one track though the area at 5:20 p.m. Brucker said there are delays of up to 15 minutes on trains that are moving. Metro North's Hudson and New Haven train lines are unaffected.
Metro-North train service North of North White Plains was suspended at 3:50 p.m. Hudson and New Haven lines are unaffected. The Harlem line south of the North White Plains station is running.
Due to the severe weather, there is a 2 1/2-hour delay at Newark Liberty Airport and a 1 1/2-hour delay at LaGuardia.
The National Weather Service had issued a Tornado Warning until 4:15 p.m. for southern Westchester County. Other severe weather watches and warnings are in effect for portions of the tri-state area. Forecasters say these storms could produce deadly lightning, strong straight-line winds, torrential downpours, hail and, perhaps, even isolated tornadoes at least through Wednesday evening.
Please check back with WCBSTV.com and CBS 2 for all the latest on this breaking story.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_193162950.html
Pictures are in the story at the link above - the third one definately looks like it took a good twist IMO.