After a sticky day filled with uncomfortable humidity and heat, thunderstorms rolled into the tri-state area Tuesday evening with damaging winds, dangerous lightning and flooding downpours, leaving a trail of downed trees and wires in their wake.
Temperatures soared to near 90 degrees during the day before the hail, heavy rain and wind gusts swept through.
A state of emergency was declared for Ridgefield in Connecticut's Fairfield County after the storms brought down trees and wires, knocking out power. Power was out for nearly half the town, affecting about 5,000 customers, NBC Connecticut reported.
The Harlem line of Metro-North saw delays of more than an hour due to a downed tree in Bedford Hills during the evening rush, and all three area airports reported weather-related delays of over three hours.
Ocean County in New Jersey was slammed by the storm, and amateur video showed fierce winds whipping up the waters by a dock and sending furniture flying as the videographer yells "It's a friggin' tornado!"
Further south in New Jersey, a storm ripped off the wall of a mall in Deptford and flipped over a car in the parking lot, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Lightning was seen widely across the city during the storms, and NBC 4 New York viewers submitted some spectacular photos from Manhattan and parts of New Jersey.
The thunderstorms cleared out Tuesday night, making way for some beautiful and temperate weather on Wednesday and most of Thursday. Temperatures will begin to decrease as the week wears on; it will be in the mid 80s on Wednesday and the low 80s on Thursday, according to Storm Team 4. Skies will be mostly sunny and it will be pleasant and not too muggy outdoors.
A cold front will stall out across the tri-state area on Thursday night and stick around until Monday. This means periods of rain and cooler temperatures are in the forecast for this weekend. Friday and Sunday look like the wettest days, with parts of Saturday being the driest, Storm Team 4 says.
Those headed to the Health and Fitness Expo or NYC Pride Parade on Sunday may want to bring an umbrella, as it could be rainy in the morning. Things should dry out by the afternoon, Storm Team 4 says.
Temperatures will be in the mid 70s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
