More Rain Forecast Wednesday Morning, Then Clearer Skies for Tri-State

Rains are again forecast to drench the tri-state area Wednesday morning after two straight days of severe storms that caused flash flooding that backed up major roads, knocked down power lines across the region and damaged some buildings.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to linger through lunchtime, Storm Team 4 says, but the skies are forecast to clear in the afternoon as highs hit the 80s. When the storms pass out of the area, New Yorkers should also see relief from the stifling humidity that has hung over the area for more than a week.

Storms Wednesday shouldn't be as intense as the ones that hit earlier this week. On Tuesday, streets and highways across New York and New Jersey were shut down for periods of time as a line of storms rapidly dumped as much as 3 inches of rain in some spots. Evening rush hour traffic on the George Washington Bridge was disastrous, with delays of nearly 3 hours on the inbound side. 

There were reports of downed trees and power lines, causing power outages in some spots. In the Graniteville section of Staten Island, 1,400 customers were briefly without electricity when lightning struck some power lines. In New Jersey, a total of 13,000 JCP&LPSE&G and Atlantic City Electric customers were without power at the peak of outages. Long Island also saw thousands of outages, PSEG Long Island reports
On Long Island, gusty winds knocked over a 100-year-old tree in a Bellmore backyard. Homeowner Seth Koslow said the tree crushed his fence and several smaller trees, but no nearby houses were damaged and no one was hurt. 
 
 
In East Harlem, lightning struck a four-story building on Park Avenue., knocking out a few bricks from the rooftop chimney and damaging a fourth-floor apartment wall. The building was briefly evacuated, but families were allowed to return quickly. No one was hurt. 
 
The storms Tuesday were particularly problematic for areas across parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties in New Jersey, where more than 4 inches of rain fell the day before, oversaturating the already-soggy ground, according to Storm Team 4.

By Thursday, Storm Team 4 says skies turn mostly sunny with less humidity and highs in the low 80s. The improved weather trend is expected to continue through the weekend. 

Get the latest severe weather alerts and track the storms with our interactive radar. Follow Storm Team 4 on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates. 
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