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Mighty Winds Thrash, Trash NYC

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Mar 5, 2008 11:19 pm US/Eastern

Mighty Winds Thrash, Trash NYC

Gusts Of Up To 60 MPH Make Mess Of Massive Trees

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Heavy rain and gusting winds ripped through the metropolitan area early Wednesday morning, pulling down trees, knocking out power and leaving commuters to wade through drenched streets.

Wind gusts of more than 60 mph during the peak of the overnight and early morning storms left residents awakening from sweet dreams to real life nightmares.

In the South Richmond Hill section of Queens, roads were blocked off by police protecting people from smoldering and downed power lines. Brutal winds even tore an awning right off of a building on Atlantic Avenue.

"You could feel the suction on the side of the house, and I was like, I know I'm not in Kansas," said Corona resident Joe Rhodes.

Though it wasn't a tornado by any means, the early morning winds were strong enough to uproot a gigantic tree and throw it into three vehicles in Corona. Gas pipes running underneath the tree were ruptured sending gas into several homes on 107th Street.

Strong winds continued to plague the region and were expected to remain upward of 40 mph throughout the day, despite the rain moving out of the area.

Air traffic arriving at La Guardia Airport were experiencing delays of up to 90 minutes, while some flights to Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed up to 2 hours.

As much as 2.5 inches of rain were dumped on New Jersey overnight, causing puddles and flooding on highways that normally have problems.

The wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph toppled small trees and branches throughout New York City, onto the Bronx River Pakway in Scarsdale, the Saw Mill River Parkway in Elmsford and Chappaqua, and in parts of Monmouth County.

More than 12,000 residents on Long Island and about 6,400 in Westchester County were without power, according to utility companies. So, too, were more than 900 in Queens and 300 in the Bronx, Consolidated Edison said.

A PSE&G spokesman says the heavy rains shorted a circuit at a power station, knocking off power to 1300 customers in the Harrison and Kearny area.

There were 10 to 20 minute delays on the Montauk and Oyster Bay branches of the Long Island Rail Road.

The storms also took down lines cutting off power to a couple hundred homes in Hackensack and River Edge.

Variable temperatures in March make it prone to unstable weather systems.

(© 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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