UPDATE 2 -- Thunderstorm briefly prompts New York City tornado warning

UPDATE 2 -- Thunderstorm briefly prompts New York City tornado warning

2011-08-28 15:35:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Forecasters at the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) on early Sunday morning briefly issued a tornado warning for parts of New York City as Hurricane Irene headed for the city.

The NWS issued the warning at 3.48 a.m. EDT for Queens and Brooklyn, the two most populous boroughs of New York City. A tornado warning was also issued for Nassau County, which is located on Long Island to the east of the city.

"At 3.48 a.m. EDT, National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) southeast of Lido Beach, or 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Massapequa, moving northwest at 55 miles (88 kilometers) per hour," the NWS said in a bulletin.

The warning area included areas such as Long Beach, Oceanside, Elmont, Jackson Heights, and Atlantic Beach. It also covered John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport, which are both closed to incoming flights on Sunday due to Hurricane Irene.

"Immediately go indoors to the lowest possible floor for shelter," the New York City Office of Emergency Management said in a notice. "Stay away from windows." The warning was allowed to expire at 4.15 a.m. EDT, and there were no reports of tornadoes.

As of 2 a.m. EDT, the center of Irene was located about 195 miles (315 kilometers) south-southwest of New York City, but its tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 240 miles (390 kilometers). At 2 a.m. EDT, Irene's maximum sustained winds were near 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour.

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