NEW YORK (AP) - The nasty weather system blamed for four deaths in Oklahoma yesterday is now causing havoc in the East.
Possible tornadoes have been reported in the Washington, D.C., area and in a beach neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. On New York City's Rockaway peninsula, a tornado swept out of the sea this morning into the Breezy Point neighborhood. It smashed windows, ripped roofs of cabanas and scattered deck chairs and picnic benches. But there have been no injuries reported. The same storm system killed four people, including a child, in Oklahoma on Friday.
Utilities in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia report nearly 200,000 customers are without power.
In western New York, strong winds blew roofing off some buildings in Buffalo and sent bricks into the street.
The storms erupted in Oklahoma, where a cold front collided with triple-digit heat. Authorities say fierce winds yesterday flung a mobile home into a creek in northeastern Oklahoma, killing a couple and their grandchild. A Missouri truck driver also died after winds flipped his semi.