Tornado causes major damage at Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach

A tornado touched down Thursday night at the Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach amid a powerful storm, leaving one person with minor injuries and major damage to at least 30 cabanas, according to Nassau Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro.

The storm, which slowly made its way to Long Island, dumping heavy rain by about 6:45 p.m., appeared to have slowed by 10 p.m., leaving a trail of flooded roads and frayed nerves of drivers unable to avoid the deluge.

Nassau was under a state of emergency due to the storm and had mobilized its emergency operation center, County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.

"So far there are no reports of casualties or serious injuries," Blakeman said in a text message through spokesperson Chris Boyle. "There is property damage at Silver Point Beach Club and Sun and Surf [Beach Club] that is being assessed right now, and a search team has been mobilized to make sure no one is trapped within the cabanas."

Inwood Fire Department Chief Josiyah Green told reporters at the scene in Atlantic Beach late Thursday that about 100 workers and guests were at the cabanas during what he described as "a pretty busy evening.” He attributed the lack of injuries to "luck.”

"Nobody was pulled from the building,” Green said. "We had nobody trapped.”

Blakeman and the Nassau County Police Department have scheduled a news conference for 8 a.m. Friday in Atlantic Beach to provide an update on damage from the storm.

First responders were grappling with reports of "people trapped in their vehicles due to flooding in the South Shore," Blakeman said. 

The National Weather Service had earlier issued a warning for an "isolated" tornado and later confirmed a waterspout came ashore in Atlantic Beach turning into a tornado.

The weather service had also alerted residents of southern Nassau to dangerous winds. The system that moved in Thursday brought swamped roadways and flash flooding to Nassau and parts of Suffolk, making a mess of the evening commute and delaying flights in area airports. 

On the Long Island Expressway heading west near Old Westbury, traffic was bumper-to-bumper as the heaviest rain fell, some vehicles parked on the side of the roadway.

At the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, a concert featuring Howard Jones, The English Beat, Modern English and other acts that had their heydays in the 1980s was back on late Thursday after being delayed as the storm hit.

An updated text message to concertgoers said: "Good News, Howard Jones Fan! Seating area is open now and the show will begin at 9:45pm. Please safely proceed to the gates at this time. To make entry faster and get to the music, please leave all unnecessary items in your car and have your tickets ready for scanning. We'll continue to keep an eye on the weather and will let you know if there are further updates."

More rain is possible through the weekend. There's a 40% chance of showers Friday, increasing to 60% on Saturday and 70% on Sunday, amid otherwise cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 70s.

Newsday's Robert Brodsky and David Olson contributed to this story.