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Drone activity in New York shut down runways at Stewart Airfield, governor says
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — Drone activity forced runways at New York’s Stewart Airfield to shut down Friday night, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Last night, the runways at Stewart Airfield were shut down for approximately one hour due to drone activity in the airspace. This has gone too far,” Hochul said in a statement released Saturday morning.
Hochul’s statement echoes a growing frustration among Tri-State Area lawmakers demanding answers from the federal government about the drones’ origins amid numerous reports of them flying over New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
White House officials have deemed suspected threats from the drones to be “not credible” and said many sightings are likely just of planes.
Growing frustration with drones
Local officials have expressed angst over the federal response, especially after drones were reported over New York City.
“The people of Staten Island deserve answers, and the people of this city and state and region deserve answers of what the heck is going on,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said.
Hochul’s statement Saturday also called on federal lawmakers to pass a law strengthening the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of drones:
“In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing. But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith scheduled a press conference to give an update on drone activity Saturday in Seaside Heights. Smith said he also plans to unveil new federal legislation to address the issue.
It comes after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Biden, asking for the federal government’s help addressing the drones.
“While I am sincerely grateful for your administration’s leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote.
Drone sightings have also been reported in Pennsylvania and other cities along the East Coast.
contributed to this report.
A tornado touched down in the Northern California town of Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz Saturday afternoon, flipping cars and knocking down power lines, according to authorities.
Scotts Valley is a small town about six miles north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County a short distance off of State Highway 17.
The incident happened at around 1:40 p.m. around the 200 block Mount Hermon Drive. Scotts Valley police initially posted an alert on social media advising residents to avoid the area following a multi-vehicle accident that had multiple power lines down and completely blocked the road in all directions.
Police later posted an update saying that witnesses reported it was not an accident “but rather a possible tornado” that touched down near the Target store at 270 Mount Hermon Drive “and threw multiple cars off the road.”
Police did not provide any specific details on injuries.
The National Weather Service had issued an severe thunderstorm warning in the area a short time before the tornado.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Scotts Valley CA, Capitola CA and Soquel CA until 2:00 PM PST pic.twitter.com/guLKEZRLeJ
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) December 14, 2024
A later post on X by the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado had occurred based on “video, photos, firsthand accounts, and radar signatures”
The post noted that a NWS Survey team will further investigate the incident to provide a ranking.
The tornado was just the latest extreme wind event connected to the powerful storm that passed through Northern California overnight. The first-ever tornado warning in San Francisco was issued by the National Weather Service early Saturday morning shortly before 6 a.m., alarming residents with a cell phone alert that woke many people up, according to reports on social media.
While that tornado did not materialize, high winds were causing impacts across the region, including a city-wide power outage in the North Bay city of Novato and a full closure of Interstate 580 in both directions at the San Joaquin and Alameda county line after a multiple-vehicle collision involving a big rig due to high winds.
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San Francisco residents were woken up by a tornado warning early Saturday morning during a powerful storm system that battered the region with heavy rain and wind.
It was the first-ever tornado warning for San Francisco, but not the first tornado, cited CBS News Bay Area meteorologist Paul Heggen.
The National Weather Service issued the warning for northern San Mateo County and parts of downtown San Francisco, just before 6 a.m. until 6:15 a.m.
According to the NWS, there was a cyclonic signature on the radar that had produced enough rotation signature to prompt the warning.
“The radar scan at 5:52am clearly shows a “hook echo” offshore — that’s the signature we look for to identify a developing tornado. This feature was embedded within a broad area of very heavy rain, but it still stands out,” Heggen explained.
Notice the cloud-to-ground (well, cloud-to-ocean) lightning strike near the hook echo. That confirms the instability present in the atmosphere — such strikes are only possible with enough vertical motion to separate charged particles (“hydrometeors”) within the storm. 4/15 pic.twitter.com/NY3RSewd6j
— Paul Heggen @paulkpix.bsky.social (@PaulKPIX) December 14, 2024
The NWS Bay Area said the warning was over for San Francisco at 6:07 a.m. And let the tornado warning expire at 6:15 a.m.
The warning led to a flurry of social media posts from residents who were woken up by the alert on their cell phones. It was being reported as the first-ever tornado warning issued for San Francisco.
There was also a special alert issued for a possible water spout on San Francisco Bay in the area of the Bay Bridge that expired ten minutes after the tornado warning.
While the strongest part of the system has passed, isolated severe thunderstorms remain possible for parts of the Bay Area through the morning, the National Weather Service said.
The risk of a severe storm is marginal, and the NWS said it will only last through Saturday morning. According to PG&E, the storm conditions caused power outages for thousands of people in the Bay Area.
