A tornado hit a beachfront area in New York City, confirmed the National Weather Service (NWS).
Aside from power lines down, property damages and startled residents, no injuries have been reported, said a spokesperson with the New York Fire Department.
A tornado watch is in effect until 9 p.m. Saturday for the city's five boroughs and most of the New York tri-state area.
Videos taken by bystanders show the funnel cloud hurling sand and debris in the air as it moves through the Breezy Point section of the Rockaway peninsula in Queens on Saturday.
The NWS has issued a public severe weather advisory for much of the Northeastern United States for Saturday afternoon and evening.
"It was crazy," said neighborhood resident Joseph Mure, who was in the shower when the storm hit, and went outside to snap a picture of the retreating funnel. "There were a lot of sirens going off. You could see it twisting."
The tornado struck as part of a line of storms that were expected to bring damaging winds, hail, heavy rain and possibly more tornadoes throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday. Across New York state, in Buffalo, strong winds from a broad front of thunderstorms blew roofing off of some buildings and sent bricks falling into the street.
The storm system killed four people, including a child, in Oklahoma on Friday.
