Severe Storms Sweep Through New York & New Jersey Leaving Downed Trees And Power Lines
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Severe weather took its toll on parts of New York and New Jersey on Friday evening. Earlier in the day, numerous watches and warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for both tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.
Trees and power lines were knocked down and blocked roads as the summer storm moved through.
Ossining, in Westchester County, was among the hardest hit by Friday's weather. Route 9 was shut down through most of the village, where trees took down utility poles and draped wires across the road.
"Stuff coming out of the trees and everything -- branches breaking and everything like the wind...the sewers were getting flooded and all that," one young resident told 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan.
Ossining Residents Say The Storm Came Suddenly And Violently. 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan Reports.
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Patio furniture also went flying and some residents lost shingles off their roofs.
"It was quite amazing, I thought it was just going to rain," said one woman.
Some residents were told to leave their homes in for fear that uprooted trees may have ruptured gas lines. Residents of Ossining also said they could see the path of destruction moving southeast from the Hudson River.
"The winds were just unbelievable and it was like what you think a tornado might look like," said another woman.
The bad weather has also left thousands of customers without power. As of 11 p.m., 8,025 were without power -- mostly in Westchester County.
About 30,000 PSE&G customers were also in the dark in southern New Jersey late Friday night.
Meanwhile, in Pleasantville, CBS 2's Dave Carlin caught up with people who saw the dramatic aftermath of the severe storms.
Danielle Raefski, a mother of five, gave her kids extra hugs and said it was a miracle they were far enough away from the 40-foot tree that now stretches almost the entire length of her backyard.
"We were just happy that it missed the house and that actually the first thing they looked at was the swing set and it just missed the swing set as well," she told Carlin.
Michael Orfino had his BMW go from mint condition to scratched and dented in a flash, thanks to a giant fallen Maple tree.
"I just got it recently, about four months ago, and I re-did the whole car," he lamented.
Tree removal crews were left to tackle problems on the most heavily-traveled roads first.
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