MYFOXNY.COM -
Utility crews made progress Wednesday from severe weather that brought down power lines, trees and knocked out power to thousands in the tristate region.
More than 3,000 Long Island Power Authority customers remain without power. Nearly 5,000 also are without power in Westchester County.
About 32,000 utility customers were in the dark in eastern New York. National Grid has 13,000 customers without power, mostly in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Warren counties.
Connecticut Light & Power says more than 20,000 customers are without electricity.
New Jersey's three major utilities say about 1,200 homes and businesses remained without service Wednesday. Service had been knocked out to 30,000 customers in the Garden State.
Central Hudson Gas and Electric reported about 11,000 mid-Hudson Valley customers without electricity early Tuesday evening, the AP reported.Two weather systems combined over the East Coast and set up for a widespread severe thunderstorm event.
A cold front combined with an upper level jet streak will lead to a set up that is favorable for thunderstorm development with damaging winds, locally heavy rainfall and possible tornadoes.
A tornado watch was in effect until late Tuesday for a portion of the area.
A Wind Advisory was also in effect for New York City, Long Island, Southern Connecticut, New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley for most of the day. Sustained winds were between 20 and 30mph with gusts of 50mph reported.
The NYPD put its weather-related Plan B into effect to deal with storm conditions, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said. The plan is used for dangerous street conditions caused by hurricanes, storms, or floods. Police officers are assigned to patrol parkways and expressways to help stranded cars.
Falling trees and branches caused problems on the overhead power lines for the MTA's Metro-North Railroad, stranding several trains and causing delays. Also, a fallen tree blocked the tracks near the Williamsbridge station in the Bronx.
NJ Transit cross-honored tickets across its services until midnight.
In the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, the wind tore a billboard and knocked down a piece of pipe, which hit and injured a woman.
In Ridgewood, N.J., the wind caused a tree to land on a house on Tuesday morning, causing significant damage. Branches on the old oak tree poked holes in the roof. Fire officials say an engineer will inspect the dwelling.
The New York City Buildings Department is urging builders and property owners to take precautions due to the potential for high winds. Call 311 if you see potentially unsafe construction conditions -- or 911 if a building seems to be structurally compromised.
Showers and thunderstorms could produce rainfall amounts between 2 and 3 inches. Heavy downpours associated with thunderstorms will produce localized flooding. The greatest rainfall totals will be in Connecticut.
The storm will move out by mid-morning on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Clouds roll across Manhattan on Sept. 18, 2012. (Photo: Luke Funk)
A tree sits on a roof in Ridgewood, N.J. (MyFoxNY.com)
