Sep 7, 2008 7:45 am US/Eastern
Tri-State Cleans Up After Tropical Storm Hanna
Storm Brought Heavy Downpours, Gusting Winds To Our Area
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Tropical Storm Hanna brought showers and humid, tropical conditions to the tri-state Saturday, as well as flash flood and even tornado warnings. Highways were flooded and flights were delayed for hours. Fortunately, the inclement weather cleared out overnight. Sunday is expected to feature sunny skies, breezy weather, and temperatures in the 80's.
"We are going to have a beautiful Sunday, a nice end to the weekend," CBS 2HD meteorologist Elise Finch said. "It looks like the center of circulation for this system is just going to race out of here, and really by midnight, we will be looking at a serious decrease in activity."
Rain fell heavily at times, and the National Weather Service predicted the fast-moving storm would dump up to four inches of rain before midnight and buffet the area with winds of up to 50 mph. The effects were expected to be stronger on Long Island, where emergency shelters were opened and parks were closed.
Temperatures reached a high of 81 Saturday, whereas the normal high is 78. "We were just a tad above where we should've been in terms of temperature, but it was very humid, very cloudy all day long," Finch said.
Utilities said about 1,100 homes and businesses were without power across the city, Long Island and Westchester County. Flight delays were as long as four hours at the region's major airports.
Stretches of several highways north of the city were closed because of flooding, Westchester County police said. In the city, a tree toppled onto the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, injuring no one but briefly closing the highway, city police said.
National Weather Service meteorologist John Murray said Hanna wasn't likely to cause serious trouble. Still, the storm's threat was enough to postpone an afternoon game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. Rain also suspended play at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, being held in Queens.
With potential floods looming, city and Long Island officials said crews had been dispatched to clear catch basins and street drains.
New York City emergency management commissioner Joseph F. Bruno said parks employees were ready to clear any fallen trees or limbs.
Nassau County, on Long Island, had 20 shelters stocked with food and water that could be opened if the storm forced people out of their homes, emergency management commissioner Jim Callahan said. The shelters can hold 34,000 people.
He said he didn't anticipate significant coastal flooding. "It's basically a warm nor'easter," he said.
Farther east on Long Island, Suffolk County closed all parks and campgrounds at 4 p.m., County Executive Steve Levy said. The county had prepared shelters but didn't anticipate ordering evacuations, he said.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed and hope the winds don't do too much havoc," he said.
The Red Cross opened two shelters on Long Island and said it had 1,500 volunteers ready to assist.
Alerts and Advisories:
Tropical Storm Warning in CT - Southern Fairfield,
Southern Middlesex,
Southern New Haven,
Southern New London
Inland Tropical Wind Warning in CT - Northern Fairfield, Northern Middlesex, Northern New Haven, Northern New London
Flash Flood Warning in CT - Northern Fairfield, Northern Middlesex, Northern New Haven, Northern New London, Southern Fairfield, Southern Middlesex, Southern New Haven, Southern New London
Areal Flood Watch in CT - Northern Fairfield, Northern Middlesex, Northern New Haven, Northern New London, Southern Fairfield, Southern Middlesex, Southern New Haven, Southern New London
Tropical Storm Warning in NJ - Coastal Ocean, Eastern Monmouth, Essex, Hudson, Ocean, Southeastern Burlington, Union, Western Monmouth
Tropical Storm Warning, Inland Tropical Wind Warning in NJ - Middlesex
Inland Tropical Wind Warning in NJ - Bergen, Eastern Passaic, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Northwestern Burlington, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, Western Passaic
Areal Flood Warning in NJ - Eastern Monmouth, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, Western Monmouth
Flood Warning, Flash Flood Warning in NJ - Bergen
Flash Flood Warning in NJ - Eastern Passaic, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Northwestern Burlington, Southeastern Burlington, Union, Western Passaic
Areal Flood Watch in NJ - Bergen, Coastal Ocean, Eastern Monmouth, Eastern Passaic, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Northwestern Burlington, Ocean, Somerset, Southeastern Burlington, Sussex, Union, Warren, Western Monmouth, Western Passaic
Tropical Storm Warning - Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Nassau, New York (Manhattan), Northeast Suffolk, Northwest Suffolk, Queens, Richmond (Staten Is.), Southeast Suffolk, Southern Westchester, Southwest Suffolk
Inland Tropical Wind Warning - Northern Westchester, Orange, Putnam, Rockland
Flash Flood Warning - Bronx, Kings (Brooklyn), Nassau, New York (Manhattan), Northeast Suffolk, Northern Westchester, Northwest Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond (Staten Is.), Rockland, Southeast Suffolk, Southern Westchester, Southwest Suffolk
Areal Flood Warning - Eastern Dutchess, Western Dutchess
Areal Flood Watch - Bronx, Delaware, Kings (Brooklyn), Nassau, New York (Manhattan), Northeast Suffolk, Northern Westchester, Northwest Suffolk, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond (Staten Is.), Rockland, Southeast Suffolk, Southern Westchester, Southwest Suffolk, Sullivan
Areal Flood Watch, Areal Flood Advisory - Eastern Columbia, Eastern Dutchess, Eastern Ulster, Western Dutchess, Western Ulster
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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