A rare EF-1 tornado tore through Atlantic Beach on Long Island’s South Shore on Thursday evening, destroying approximately 50 cabanas at the Sun and Surf Beach Club and prompting Nassau County officials to declare a state of emergency. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado touched down between 6:47 and 6:50 p.m. on August 20, 2026, with peak winds estimated at 97 miles per hour.
The waterspout originated offshore and transitioned into a tornado as it moved ashore, striking the beach club with devastating force. Cabana roofs were torn off, large wooden beams were knocked over, and debris was scattered across the facility, according to drone footage and eyewitness accounts. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman described it as “a very powerful tornado” and said the narrow storm path caused extensive damage to structures while leaving the rest of the beach club strewn with debris but without major structural damage to other buildings.
One worker suffered a minor injury and refused medical attention, and no deaths were reported. The timing of the storm likely prevented more serious injuries—the beach was relatively quiet hours after a crowded special luncheon had ended, and the intense rainstorm preceding the tornado had kept most people indoors. Club member Matthew Stark, who sheltered with nearly 10 family members in a 25-by-15-foot cabana, told the New York Post that the roof was ripped off as he closed the door, with debris and beams falling on them. “If it had been three or four hours earlier, there would have been a lot of serious injuries,” Blakeman said.
This tornado marked the first to touch down in Nassau County in nearly five years. The previous major tornado outbreak on Long Island occurred on November 13, 2021, when six tornadoes struck the region in a single day. Tornadoes remain exceptionally rare in the New York area; according to meteorological records, only 41 tornadoes have hit Long Island since 1950, and roughly 490 have touched down across New York state in the same period. The 2007 Brooklyn tornado, an EF2, remains the strongest tornado on record to strike New York City since documentation began in 1950.
The tornado was part of a broader severe weather system that brought heavy rainfall and flooding to the New York City area and surrounding regions on August 20. Streets flooded in East Meadow and Flushing, Queens, and in Elizabeth and Bloomfield, New Jersey. On Southern State Parkway near Queens, several vehicles stalled in floodwaters and required assistance. A Stewart Manor home also lost its roof during the storms. Nassau County officials are still assessing the full financial damage to the beach club and surrounding properties.
Sources
- NBC New York — confirmation of EF-1 tornado, 30 cabanas damaged, waterspout origin, one minor injury, state of emergency declaration
- New York Post — 50 cabanas destroyed, peak winds, eyewitness account from Matthew Stark, Blakeman’s statement on timing and injuries, drone footage details
- News12 Long Island — EF-1 confirmation, 6:47-6:50 p.m. touchdown time, 97 mph peak winds
- ABC7 New York — NWS confirmation, 100 guests at beach club, EF-1 rating
- West Fairo Online — first tornado in Nassau County since November 2021
- Fox Weather — 97 mph peak winds, EF-1 classification
- News12 Westchester — first tornado in 5 years, November 13, 2021 outbreak as precedent, Long Island tornado rarity (41 since 1950)
