Strong Winds Send Trees Crashing In Neighborhoods Around North Jersey, Staten Island

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Whipping winds took down trees, power lines, and street signs on Tuesday, and it is just the beginning of a big shift in the weather in the Tri-State Area.

As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, winds whipped through Staten Island and took down huge trees.

One tree crashed down in the front yard of a home on Silver Lake Road, partially landing on a house, and taking down power lines and a street sign.

In Rutherford, New Jersey winds took down several big branches and the top of a tree on Vanderburgh Avenue.

With only minutes to spare the homeowner told CBS2's Carrasco that she was standing in the exact spot where the tree fell before she went inside.

"I walked in, put my groceries away, and ba-ba-boom! I'm in the kitchen and it came down right on top of the garbage can where I just was," she said.

A few blocks away on Wood Street, a stump was all that was left of a massive tree that fell. It hit a house on its way down and damaged a fence and a window.

Even more dangerous, residents say live power lines came down too and stretched across the street with one man's car trapped beneath them.

"I'm not allowed in it, I guess, until PSEG comes. I'll have to move it sometime," he said.

The gusting winds were accompanied by rapidly dropping temperatures late Tuesday night -- a prelude to a return to winter for Wednesday.

CBS2 Meteorologist Giorgio Panetta says to expect temperatures to start off in the 20s for most on Wednesday, and a few teens north and west of the city will be felt as well.

But the wind will drive those air temperatures down into the single digits and teens for wind chills. Even during peak heat of the afternoon, we will have chills in the 20s, Panetta reported.

And for the first day of spring on Friday, a wintry mix that could involve some snow could be coming, CBS2's Elise Finch reported.