Two small tornadoes touched down in New York City on Saturday, stunning residents who associate twisters more with the US Midwest, the National Weather Service said.

A tornado watch was in effect for Long Island, New York, and the neighboring state of Connecticut all day long and into the evening.

One funnel cloud struck the Canarsie neighborhood, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and another hit in Queens borough, at Breezy Point, the service said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries but trees were downed and some store windows were knocked out, local television NY1 reported.