Other major cities hit

Two tornadoes touched down at the edge of New York City on Saturday. Once exceedingly rare in New York, tornadoes have occurred with regularity in recent years.

A small tornado uprooted trees on Long Island last month. In 2011, a fast-moving storm during the city’s evening rush hour spawned two destructive tornadoes and a fierce macroburst with wind speeds up to 125 mph that barreled across the city’s Brooklyn and Queens sections. A woman in a car who had just swapped seats with her husband was killed. A September storm in 2010 spawned two tornadoes that knocked down thousands of trees and blew off rooftops in Brooklyn and Queens.

Other major cities hit by tornadoes in recent years include:

• Dallas/Fort Worth, 2012. A series of tornadoes from two storm systems crumpled a wing of a nursing home and peeled roofs from dozens of homes as they skipped across one of the country’s biggest metro areas. More than a dozen people were injured.

• Atlanta, 2008. A tornado with winds up to 130 mph cut a six-mile path through the downtown, blowing windows out of skyscrapers and injuring dozens.

• Fort Worth, 2000. At least two tornadoes touched down on one day in Tarrant County, one in downtown Fort Worth. Five people were killed and more than 100 injured.

• Salt Lake City, 1999. A tornado swept through downtown just seven minutes after forecasters issued a severe thunderstorm watch. At least one person was killed and about 100 people were injured.

• Miami, 1997. A tornado steamed past Miami’s high-rise condominiums, smashing windows and damaging roofs and cars in a two-mile path as people scrambled for cover. Five people were injured.