[UPDATED BELOW] The Joplin, Missouri tornado story just got a little bit more depressing. The below video shows an elephant, handled by a half dozen men or so, dragging out cars from the wreckage. According to the Atlantic Wire, the Picadilly Circus was in town for a scheduled date—when the show was canceled, the elephants were repurposed. more ›

While the sky continues to spit down miserable gray drizzle upon New York, we're faring far better than Joplin, Missouri, which was ravaged yesterday by a tornado that destroyed much of the town and has left at least 89 people dead. more ›

Nearly a month after a pair of tornados, plus a macroburst, left a trail of downed and uprooted trees, damaged sidewalks and homes, and crushed cars in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, President Obama has declared the boroughs "federal disasters," making them eligible for federal aid. Governor Paterson announced the news,"This is certainly welcomed news for New York City and removes a tremendous financial burden. The storm that spawned two tornadoes wreaked a path of devastation the likes of which New York City hasn't seen in 25 years. I thank the President, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and our Congressional Delegation for ensuring New York receives the assistance it so desperately needs." more ›

In case you forgot, two tornadoes blasted through Brooklyn and Queens in September, pulling up trees, wrecking sidewalks and killing one woman. Now, Governor David Paterson asked President Barack Obama to issue a major disaster declaration and provide FEMA assistance to cover everything from debris removal, repairs and disaster housing. FEMA officials have toured the parts of city, but are still determining if they are disaster areas. Perhaps they need to take a look at this photo of an uprooted tree pulling up the sidewalk. more ›

From the National Weather Service: "TORNADO WATCH 686 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM EDT." (Watch is less serious than a "warning.") Also, the NWS has this "Special Weather Statement"—"SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY STRONG WIND GUSTS AND HEAVY RAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING." more ›

The city has a website where homeowners can apply for help removing downed trees, tree limbs or tree stumps from the September 16 tornados, "Please be patient with your request, as Parks crews will be working first to clear streets so that emergency vehicles can get through, then removing trees fallen on or leaning on houses." Apparently the city has received 8,000 calls about tree damage—it's believed 2,000 trees were killed. more ›

Photos keep rolling in showing the sad tree carnage wrought by the tornadoes and macroburst that slammed Queens and Brooklyn last week. An estimated 2,000 trees were felled by the storm in Queens alone, and crews are still trying to clear away the devastation. Karyn Regal, who sent these photos of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, says that visiting the park yesterday "was like attending a funeral. It is truly mind-blowing. I grew up in New England, with blizzards galore, but this takes the cake." more ›

Middle Village in Queens caught the worst of Thursday night's storm, getting slammed with a "Macroburst" which featured winds of 125 mph, a maximum path width of 5 miles and a path length of 8 miles. Today the blog A Walk in the Park surveys the extensive damage, and slams the NYPD for sending home 18 special duty officers once the storm blew through. Robert F. Holden, president of Juniper Park Civic Association, reports that Middle Village still looks "like a war zone": more ›

About three thousand customers are still without power after Thursday's tornados hit Brooklyn and Queens. A Middle Village resident told the Daily News, "I threw out all the food today. Everything in the freezer was getting soft. Are they going to pay us?" she asked. "Are you going to reimburse us for the food I threw out?" more ›

Pastor Ted Chase of Flushing's George's Episcopal Church is claiming divine intervention during Thursday's tornado in Queens. The twister ripped the steeple of the church from the bell tower and sent it flying across the street. Luckily, nobody was harmed. He told the Daily News, "We believe it was a miracle." more ›

The lone fatality during Thursday's tornado was the death of a 30-year-old woman. Aline Levakis and her husband had been driving on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens when the storm hit. Levakis decided to pull over, only for a tree branch to fall and crush the car, killing her. Husband Billy Levakis told friends and family, "She was the best person ever created. God gave her to me. She was 30 years younger than me, but she loved me so much." more ›

What does it mean? The storm that hit on Thursday around 5:30 p.m. was not one tornado but two tornado—plus a macroburst! According to the National Weather Service, there an EF-0 tornado that touched down in Park Slope, Brooklyn (winds of 80 mph, max path width of 75 yards and a length of 2 miles), while a EF-1 tornado hit Flushing and Bayside, Queens (winds of 100 mph, max path width of 100 yards, and length of 4 miles). The macroburst, which was the most damaging, was near Middle Village and Forest Hills (winds of 125 mph, max path width of 5 miles and path length of 8 miles). more ›

National Weather Service officials are all around the city looking at areas damaged by yesterday's storm to figure if a tornado did touch down. The Office of Emergency Management's Chris Gilbride tells us the NWS officials will be taking their surveys (both on the ground and aerial), photographs and videos, and the scientific data (plus other information) from the storm to make the determination, which could come in the next day or so. more ›

After yesterday's huge storm rolled in and pummeled the city, especially Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, authorities are taking a look at the devastation which left one person dead and caused transit delays and power outages for tens of thousands. National Weather Service officials will also look at the storm data and see whether it was in fact a tornado. more ›

On Sunday afternoon, the first tornado to touch down in the Bronx in 36 years did some serious damage in Riverdale. Yesterday the National Weather Service confirmed that the storm that brought down trees and power lines was in fact a tornado. Winds gusted around 100 miles per hour, and 7 people were injured. "I was never so scared in my life," Joan Kearney, 80, tells the Daily News. "I've never seen anything like this. I've almost lived on this street my whole life." And other residents tell NY1, "The rain was going around in a circle and all. Blasted through here; never saw so much rain coming down the hill here. It was just like a whole sheet of white water everywhere." (And in Riverdale Park, the rain completely rusted out a Parks Dept. tree trimmer's tin uniform.) more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The storm that tore through the tri-state area yesterday afternoon hammered parts of the Bronx particularly hard, sending trees crashing into cars and houses and scattering participants in the Dominican Day parade. Tree branches smashed windows and tore down power lines, and this morning 348 Con Ed customers in the borough are without power. Although a tornado warning was issued at 3:40 p.m., John Murray of the National Weather Service says there was "no confirmed evidence" of a twister. But the locals know what they saw. more ›

We knew there would be rain, but check out this message from the Office of Emergency Management: "Alert issued 7/23/10 at 8:20 PM. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning until 9:00 PM for Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Immediately go indoors and/or to the lowest floor of your building for shelter. Stay away from windows." There's also a flood advisory for the city. But the lightning show has been nuts! You can share your pictures by sending them to us at photos@gothamist.com or tagging them "gothamist" on Flickr. more ›

After hearing yesterday's severe thunderstorm warning and receiving alarming reports of hail the size of Double Downs hitting the Throgs Neck Bridge, many of us in Brooklyn and Manhattan were ultimately left wondering, "Where's the beef?" But while many parts of NYC remained mostly clear and dry, Queens and Long Island got hammered by the brief but violent thunderstorm. Trees fell all over the tri-state area, power lines were lines were down in Queens, and as of this morning more than 16,000 homes are without electricity on Long Island. In College Point, residents said they "saw funnels coming down from the sky." Wednesday we had an earthquake, yesterday tornadoes, maybe locusts tomorrow? more ›

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the tri-state area until 8 p.m. and its forecast for this afternoon says, "Showers and thunderstorms. Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds. High near 89. Southwest wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms." more ›

Today Bay Ridge is exactly 365 days separated from the tornado that touched down in the neighborhood, and NY1 is reporting that the dust has settled and things are getting back to normal for the most part. The morning of August 8th one year ago, an EF-2 tornado touched down wiping out homes and automobiles with winds of up to 135 mph. One resident reflects on the damage done at the time, while another says "the story has a silver lining. The twister's damage brought the community closer together." Meanwhile, last night there was a Tornado Warning for Suffolk County, which eventually got downgraded. more ›

Today is Heat Awareness Day. Luckily there is no excessive heat in the Big Apple to be aware of today. Morning sun should give way to afternoon clouds and the high will be 75 at best. There's a non-negligible chance of a shower or thunderstorm this afternoon and evening. more ›

This afternoon's rain will continue into the evening, as some areas are being warned about the storms. New Jersey is supposed to have heavy thunderstorms, a tornado warning was issued, then canceled, for Nassau County, and an urban flood warning was issued for Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens until 7PM! more ›

We love this week’s NY Mag article by “locavore” Manny Howard, who planted a farm in his 800 square foot Brooklyn backyard. He grew vegetables and raised both rabbits and chickens, with the goal of using what he raised from March through July as his sole subsistence for the month of August. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Chambers and Water Sts. off Manhattan, an armed robbery on Rockaway Blvd. and 75th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Grafton St. in Brooklyn.
• LibrerDia Lectorum, one of the city's oldest Spanish language bookstores will be closing September 30th. The Manhattan store on 14th St. opened in 1960 and became a mainstay of Spanish literature in the city.
• A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in a building undergoing demolition at 80 Washington St., just a few blocks from the Deutsche Bank building. The fire ocurred in an elevator shaft filled with debris.
• President Bush reversed course and decided that Brooklyn residents should be eligible for disaster relief after all. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Bay Ridge residents affected by the August 8th tornado can call (800) 621–FEMA or visit www.fema.gov to apply for assistance.
• The Times reports that New York City's school bus union is all mobbed up, and that the supposed housecleaning following the federal indictment of its leaders was nothing of the sort.
• Park Rangers and the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit were called to Central Park to rescue a six-foot-long boa constrictor that appeared to be stuck in a rock's fissure. ESU members eventually had to drill the rock to successfully remove the snake, who will likely wind up at a reptile refuge.
• Queens Crap wonders why Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is holding his German Octoberfest fundraiser (with honorary co-host AG Andrew Cuomo!) at the Czechoslovakian Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden.
• Dirty Laundry: where writers read and musicians perform over the hum a laundromat's machines in the East Village.

The string of pleasant, if not all that meteorologically interesting, weather continues today with another sunny, mild day. More of the same is expected tomorrow, though the mercury may crack the 80 degree mark. The Weather Service has finally come to their senses and backed off their earlier prediction of highs around 90 on Friday and Saturday. They are currently calling for highs around 86, which is more in line with weather.com's predictions of the lower-80s. The next chance of rain is Sunday at the earliest. more ›

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that President Bush had signed a "major disaster declaration" for Queens on August 8, the day the weather (including a tornado in Brooklyn and Staten Island) caused much of the city to come to a standstill. This means that Queens residents and business owners will be able to apply for disaster relief. more ›