Technology and Science · 20 August, 2026 · 2 min read
Storms Damage Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach as Nassau County Declares Emergency
Possible tornado damages Sun and Surf Beach Club, destroying more than 30 cabanas. Nassau County declared a state of emergency due to the storm.
Whether the waterspout/tornado at Atlantic Beach is confirmed.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: ground delays and hundreds of flight cancellations at JFK/LaGuardia/Newark.
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Same story, two versions
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NBC New York
“Weather Stories Based on video showing the waterspout and the confirmed damage at Atlantic Beach, it was likely that a tornado did hit the area”Read the original ↗
ABC
“The National Weather Service is now investigating whether a waterspout moved onto land in Atlantic Beach, which would classify it as a tornado.”Read the original ↗
One outlet hedges ongoing classification while another treats damage as likely tornado proof.
Storms flood and disrupt
Heavy rain and winds pounded the Northeast U.S. on Thursday, with storms tearing through a beach on Long Island and stranding dozens of people in their cars in New Jersey.
“stranded dozens of people in their cars in New Jersey”
In Nassau County, a possible tornado touched down at the Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, leaving major damage to at least 30 cabanas and one person with minor injuries, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Inwood Fire Department Chief Josiyah Green.
The storms also knocked out power in parts of Delaware’s capital city, and the Delaware Electric Cooperative reported more than 1,000 customers didn’t have power in the northern part of its service area.
In New York City, flooding forced closures of segments of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway in Queens, while the Federal Aviation Administration issued ground delay notices for arrivals to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, according to the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
Officials, meteorologists, and warnings
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman declared a state of emergency and said, "There are reports of people trapped in their vehicles due to flooding in the south shore, and first responders are assisting in their rescue," as emergency crews searched for anyone trapped in cabanas.
Inwood Fire Chief Josiyah Green attributed the lack of injuries to luck, saying, "Best I can call it is luck," after the Sun and Surf Beach Club was damaged or destroyed.
The National Weather Service warned of waterspouts and tornado-like hazards over water but wasn’t able to immediately confirm a tornado on the beach, and meteorologist Bryan Ramsey said the storm was moving east offshore and expected to taper.
In Dover, Delaware, the Dover Police Department posted, "Dover — please take this seriously. Stay home. Stay safe," after a tornado touched down and caused significant damage across the city.
What’s at risk next
The National Weather Service is expected to survey Atlantic Beach storm damage Friday morning after a possible tornado tore through the area, and the Sun and Surf Beach Club said it remains unclear when the property will reopen.
“The National Weather Service is expected to survey storm damage in Atlantic Beach Friday morning”
CNN reported that New York City’s antiquated sewer infrastructure can only handle about 4.4 cm of rain per hour before collapsing and triggering flash floods, and that New York City, parts of New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania were under a Level 3 of 4 flood threat.
More than 29 million people were under flood alerts along the I-95 corridor in the Northeast, stretching from southwestern Connecticut to northern Delaware, as storms disrupted travel and public transit users faced possible delays on MTA trains.
In addition to the physical damage at Atlantic Beach and Dover, the storms continued to affect utilities, with poweroutage.us reporting more than 26,000 customers in New Jersey and more than 13,000 in Pennsylvania without power Thursday night.