New York City, like many older East Coast cities, has a very impressive urban forest. It's made up of the many parks, street trees and yard trees that can be found throughout the City, even in Manhattan. Many of these trees are nearly a century old, some even older. They give many neighborhoods of the City a wonderful character. They can shade neighborhoods, significantly reducing the temperature at street level on hot days. They filter the air New Yorkers breathe. They keep us connected to the natural world even in the heart of one of the world's major urban areas.
And they just took a massive hit.
At around 5:30 PM a major storm front passed through the New York City region. Wind speeds were measured up to 100 MPH. Visibility was reduced to zero for the early portion of the storm. There are claims that a tornado touched down in Brooklyn, but no confirmation.
Sadly there has been one person killed on the Grand Central Parkway by a falling tree. My heart goes out to her friends and family. We're fortunate that there have been so few deaths and injuries, though, considering the wide extent of damage to the City's forest.
(Edited for a bit more empathy and clarity.)
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