High Wind in New York, December 12, 2000

Name: High Wind in New York, December 12, 2000
Start: 2000-12-12T08:45
End: 2000-12-12T10:24
Location: New York

December 12, 2000 · NWS OKX · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

High winds developed rapidly in an unstable air mass following the passage of a strong cold front across the area. Several measured peak wind gusts were at least 58 mph.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 6
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.

High winds developed rapidly in an unstable air mass following the passage of a strong cold front across the area. Several measured peak wind gusts were at least 58 mph. They were responsible for causing 1 death and at least 6 injuries, as follows: At 9:05 am, a tree fell through a car wind shield and injured 1 person in Islip (Suffolk County).At 9:30 am, a street sign struck and injured 2 pedestrians in Kings County (Brooklyn).At 9:40 am, a sign struck and injured 1 person in Flatbush (Brooklyn) and a tree fell on and injured 1 person in Great Neck (Nassau County).At 10:30 am, a sign struck a police car, which caused injury to 1 person in Patchogue (Suffolk County).At 1:00 pm, a man was crushed by a tree while trying to remove a branch that dangled over the driveway of a house at 135 Heatherdell Road in Ardsley (Westchester County).High winds downed many trees onto houses, cars, power lines, and streets. In urban areas, high winds downed signs, collapsed scaffolds, and caused five partial building collapses. They caused significant property damage and power outages. On the Throgs Neck Bridge in Queens, 2 tractor trailers flipped with unknown additional injuries. In Brooklyn, high winds combined with high astronomical tides drove water from New York Harbor over retaining walls that flooded parts of the Belt Parkway near the Verrazano Bridge. In Rockland County, wind blew off part of the roof at Suffern Middle School.Here are selected specific peak wind gusts for:Orange County - The peak measured wind gust reported by a spotter in Warwick was 64 mph. Peak wind gusts measured by the Automated Surface Observing Systems at Stewart Field Airport in Newburgh was 53 mph at 8:45 am and at Montgomery Airport was 50 mph at 9:58 am.Queens County - Peak wind gusts measured by the Automated Surface Observing System at JFK Airport was 60 mph at 9:46 am and at LaGuardia Airport was 54 mph at 8:59 am.Suffolk County - Peak wind gusts measured by the Automated Surface Observing System at:Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach was 58 mph at 10:24 am.Brookhaven Calabro Airport in Shirley and Islip MacArthur Airport was 54 mph at 10:08 am and 10:19 am respectively.Republic Airport in Farmingdale was 53 mph at 9:35 am.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Orange

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.402, -74.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Rockland

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Rockland forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.152, -74.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Putnam

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.427, -73.749 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Richmond (Staten Is.)

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Richmond (Staten Is.) forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 40.583, -74.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northern Westchester

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Northern Westchester forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Westchester

When: December 12, 8:45 AM EST
Where: Southern Westchester forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bronx

When: December 12, 8:50 AM EST
Where: Bronx forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 40.827, -73.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Queens

When: December 12, 8:59 AM EST
Where: Queens forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, New York (Manhattan)

When: December 12, 9:00 AM EST
Where: New York (Manhattan) forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 40.774, -73.970 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kings (Brooklyn)

When: December 12, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Kings (Brooklyn) forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 40.634, -73.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southwest Suffolk

When: December 12, 9:05 AM EST
Where: Southwest Suffolk forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Nassau

When: December 12, 9:15 AM EST
Where: Nassau forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA

High Wind, Northwest Suffolk

When: December 12, 9:35 AM EST
Where: Northwest Suffolk forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northeast Suffolk

When: December 12, 10:24 AM EST
Where: Northeast Suffolk forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southeast Suffolk

When: December 12, 10:24 AM EST
Where: Southeast Suffolk forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
High Wind, Northern Westchester	2000-12-12	50	Male	Under Tree	Direct

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, December 2000

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5169460, 5169461, 5169462, 5169463, 5169464, 5169465, 5169466, 5169469, 5169467, 5169468, 5169472, 5169470, 5169471, 5169473, 5169474.