NWS: Tornado Touchdown in Three Village Unconfirmed

A National Weather Service report released Aug. 29 indicated small, weak tornadoes had touched down in Queens and the West Islip and Babylon area on Sunday morning during tropical storm Irene – but could not be confirmed in Three Village.

The report also showed a microburst that hit in the Sayville to Oakdale area.

In the days following the storm, residents questioned via Three Village Patch's Facebook page whether it was a tornado that had caused clusters of damage in Setauket and in Stony Brook.

NWS meteorologist Gary Conte said the combination of elements Irene brought on Sunday – heavy rain, wet grounds, extended tropical storm force winds, and wind gusts of 60 miles per hour or more – could have caused trees with shallow roots to uproot.

"Other small weak tornadoes and microbursts, producing peak wind gusts of 85 to 95 mph probably occurred, but because of limited staff resources, could not be confirmed," Conte said in an email to Patch.