Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Rockaway anymore. What the heck was that last Thursday? As phones blew up with tornado warnings that many likely shrugged off, the warning became reality as massive waterspouts formed off of Jamaica Bay near Rockaway Park and off the Atlantic Ocean near Far Rockaway. The latter turned into a tornado as it made landfall in Atlantic Beach, wreaking havoc through Sun and Surf Beach Club.
Before the alarms even went off at around 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 20, local resident Andrew Spadaro was on his bayside terrace when he spotted a massive waterspout seemingly barreling toward The Wharf on Beach 116th Street. “Look at that, holy sh*t, it’s right outside The Wharf!” he appropriately responded, in what became a mega-viral video on social media, that he filmed as he watched the unbelievable sight. Fortunately, as the waterspout appeared to make landfall, it dissipated into the sky, sparing Rockaway from any damage.
However, Atlantic Beach wasn’t so lucky. An even bigger waterspout formed off the eastern tip of Far Rockaway, traveled across the ocean, and made landfall on the western tip of Atlantic Beach, with wind speeds reaching up to 100 mph. The EF-1 tornado tore through at least 50 cabanas at Sun and Surf Beach Club. Fortunately, no one was killed, and the Sun and Surf may be able to reopen.
The last recorded tornado on the peninsula was on September 8, 2012, when an EF-0 tornado formed over the ocean and traveled across the Breezy Point tip.
