A rare November tornado warning was issued for John F. Kennedy International Airport and parts of Queens on Thursday, as a powerful nor'easter swept up the east coast of the United States bringing heavy rain, hail and flash flooding to New York City.

The National Weather Service issued the warning at 1:14 p.m. local time for southern Queens, including the area around JFK Airport, and southwestern Nassau County, with the alert in effect until 2 p.m. Forecasters said radar had detected rotation in a thunderstorm near Rockaway Beach, and the storm was moving north-east at about 15 miles per hour towards the airport.

Video shared by Fox Weather showed a dark, lowering wall cloud spinning above the airport as onlookers watched, and the Weather Service warning prompted ground stops at both JFK and LaGuardia airports. New York City Emergency Management urged people in the warned areas to take shelter immediately. There were no reports of the cloud touching down on land, according to CBS News.

Record rain and flash flooding

The tornado warning was only one part of a severe day of weather across the north-east. A flash flood warning was also in effect through 6:15 p.m. in southern Queens, while downpours of hail battered parts of the borough. More than 1.6 inches of rain was reported in Central Park, and JFK Airport recorded just over 3.32 inches of rain on Thursday, making it the airport's second-wettest November day on record.

The same storm system produced a confirmed tornado in New Castle County, Delaware, and tornado-producing storms in parts of New Jersey. The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, issued three tornado warnings on Thursday, the second-highest number of November tornado warnings the office has issued in a single day. The Storm Prediction Center had placed parts of the north-east, including Philadelphia and central New Jersey, under a level two out of five severe storm risk, with a level one risk across the New York City area.

Flights disrupted as storm moves north

The severe weather caused widespread flight cancellations, diversions and multi-hour delays across New York City's three main airports on Thursday, with airlines still working through aircraft and crew repositioning into Friday. Three Dublin-bound flights were among those cancelled because of the weather in New York.

The nor'easter was expected to strengthen along the coast on Friday, with its centre tracking northwards roughly parallel to the East Coast and positioned south of, or near, Long Island. Rain was forecast to continue across the region into Friday, with the chance of a few snowflakes in the Bronx before the rain eases in the afternoon, while higher ground in upstate New York and northern New England was in line for the season's first significant snowfall.

Forecasters said the storm would then move towards New England, bringing the first snow of the season to higher elevations there. The National Weather Service said it would investigate the reported tornadoes in Delaware and New Jersey on Friday and in the days ahead.