Powerful thunderstorms with hail and strong winds tore through the lower Hudson Valley on Tuesday evening. Ray Villeda reports.
What to Know
- A heat wave is gripping the tri-state through Tuesday as highs continue to reach the 90s
- An air quality alert remains in effect for much of the region
- Strong to severe thunderstorms will signal the transition to cooler weather as they push through during the evening hours on Tuesday
Tri-state residents weary of suffocating temperatures faced another day of blistering 90-degree heat Tuesday. A round of severe storms promised some relief from the humidity, but also brought flooding, strong winds and hail to areas north of the city.
The thunderstorms felled numerous trees and power-lines, dropped nickle-sized hail, and stirred up strong winds in the lower Hudson Valley by late evening, according to Storm Team 4.
Passaic, Bergen and Sussex counties in New Jersey, and Orange and Rockland counties in New York, were all under thunderstorm warnings earlier on Tuesday night.
Orange County was also under a flash flood warning. Some of the rain was dropping at a rate of 1-to-2 inches per hour, Storm Team 4 said.
Power was out at homes on Bakertown Road in Monroe on Tuesday night. Utilities and first responders worked amid a tangled scene of felled power-lines and downed trees.
"We have numerous places with trees down," said Kiryas Joel Fire Dept. Asst. Chief Nachman Kahana. "It's very difficult to go around. We have wires down in numerous places. We have multiple residences without power. It's a pretty big mess."
Local
The severe weather comes on the third day of a tri-state heatwave. Temperatures hit 92 degrees in Central Park by early afternoon, marking the third consecutive day of such smothering heat and the second official heat wave of the season. A swing at the park was much hotter, clocking in at 139 degrees. See more shocking surface temperatures here.
It was 101 degrees at LaGuardia, shattering the airport's old record of 97 degrees set back in 1961, Storm Team 4 said. Newark Airport, where the mercury hit 99 degrees, broke its old record of 98 from 1961. It was 93 degrees in Islip, beating the 1988 record of 92.
Winds up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail were possible in Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam, New Haven and Fairfield counties late Tuesday afternoon.
Those storms will signal the transition to cooler, less humid weather for Wednesday (highs expected to cap out at 80 degrees) ahead of some even more mild weather on Thursday (70 degrees).
Any relief will be major relief for tri-state residents who have coped with days of near-record and record heat. Many daily records were smashed on Monday, including at Newark, which saw the mercury climb to 94 degrees. Record highs were also set Monday at LaGuardia and JFK, as well as in Islip and Bridgeport, Connecticut. It got so hot in the city, a taxi overheated in midtown and burst into flames, police said.
Air quality was a concern through the day Monday and an alert remained in effect through Tuesday evening.
A chance for scattered showers returns Friday, with the possibility of more severe weather looming for Father's Day into early next week.
