A short burst of intense storm activity disrupted us in New York City this evening. The National Weather Service is evaluating meteorological data to determine if the storm can be classified as a tornado, as it presented 60 – 80 mile per hour winds. The damage is certainly suggestive of a tornado, with powerful winds knocking over trees and hurling them on power lines, thereby causing electrical outages. ConEdison is reporting power failures in various locations in the city. The Long Island Railroad canceled commuter service this evening when fallen trees disrupted service. Displaced passengers tried to use the subways instead, forcing officials to close Pennsylvania Station (where subway and train lines converge) due to overcrowding. Subway service resumed several hours later, but as I write this post, I can see long queues for taxi service owing to the delays or cancellations of public transportation lines. This is one that caught us by surprise. I am just glad that I was indoors when it struck. 2010 has certainly been a year for extreme weather events.