Severe thunderstorms brought flash flooding and tornado damage to parts of the Northeast on Thursday, August 20, 2026, as emergency crews responded across several states. On New York’s Long Island, the National Weather Service confirmed that a waterspout came ashore in Atlantic Beach in Nassau County and became a tornado. The storm damaged beach properties, prompted a local state of emergency, and added to a broader night of dangerous weather in the region.
A confirmed tornado hit Atlantic Beach after moving ashore
The National Weather Service office in New York said two waterspouts were confirmed in southern Queens and southern Nassau County between about 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on August 20, 2026. In a public statement, the agency said one waterspout appeared to come onshore in Atlantic Beach, and later reporting from the Associated Press and CBS New York said the weather service confirmed that touchdown as a tornado. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said at a Friday news conference that the tornado struck near the Sun and Surf Beach Club, while county and fire officials began damage assessments.
The scale of the damage was concentrated but significant. According to Nassau County fire officials cited by Newsday, at least 30 one-story cabanas at Sun and Surf were damaged or destroyed. NBC New York later reported the Nassau County Fire Marshal counted at least 50 cabanas damaged or destroyed, showing that the full assessment was still developing as cleanup continued on Friday.
Officials also confirmed one injury. Fire authorities said a beach club employee suffered a minor head injury and refused medical treatment at the scene. No additional civilian or first responder injuries were publicly confirmed as of Friday, according to local officials and wire reporting.
The most heavily documented damage on Long Island was in Atlantic Beach on the South Shore of Nassau County. Blakeman said a state of emergency was declared Thursday night, and emergency personnel also responded to flooding that trapped people in vehicles elsewhere along the South Shore. The Associated Press reported that cleanup and damage review were underway Friday as crews worked through storm impacts that included high water, downed debris, and beach property damage.
Property damage was also reported at nearby Silver Point Beach Club, according to Blakeman’s public remarks carried by multiple news outlets. What remains unclear is the tornado’s final rating, wind speed, and full path length. The National Weather Service said its survey teams and emergency management partners were reviewing the damage to determine the tornado’s strength and impact, and no final public survey summary had been broadly released at the time of reporting.
It is also not yet clear whether additional private properties on Long Island sustained tornado-specific damage beyond the beach club corridor. Officials have confirmed the Atlantic Beach strike zone, but they have not released a comprehensive public list of all affected structures in Nassau County tied specifically to the tornado rather than to flooding or straight-line wind.
The Long Island tornado developed during a larger severe weather outbreak that affected the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Associated Press reported that the storms brought heavy rain, flash flooding, and strong winds across the region, while the National Weather Service said the Atlantic Beach tornado began as a waterspout over the Atlantic. The weather service explains that waterspouts are rotating columns that form over water and can move onshore under the right storm conditions, turning into tornadoes when they reach land.
This event was also unusual for Nassau County. News 12 reported it was the first tornado to touch down in Nassau County in roughly five years and noted that tornadoes remain uncommon on Long Island, especially in Nassau compared with some inland parts of the state. The National Weather Service statement also said the Thursday night waterspouts were the first such outbreak in the local area since November 2021.
For Long Island residents, the immediate next step is continued cleanup and official survey work. As of Friday, officials had confirmed one tornado touchdown in Atlantic Beach, one minor injury, beach club destruction, and separate flooding rescues elsewhere on the South Shore. Further updates were expected from the National Weather Service as it completed its damage survey and finalized the tornado’s rating.