Report warns of increasing tornadoes in NY

ALBANY — A state legislator says federal data shows tornadoes have increased across New York over the past 60 years and he's calling for a better system to warn people to take shelter from the high-speed winds.

Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, a Bronx Democrat and member of the Committee on Environmental Conservation, says 47 tornadoes were recorded from 1950 to 1970 statewide. The frequency rose through the next four decades and there were 144 over the past 15 years.

National Weather Service data show nine in New York City since 2003, compared with three in the previous two decades and none before that.

The report says 407 tornadoes since 1950 have injured 248 people. Most occurred from May to September.

Crespo says New Yorkers increasingly face severe weather and need to prepare.