Elmira, N.Y., hit by suspected tornado as storms slam Northeast, knock out power to thousands

Lighting flashes over New Jersey, as seen from across the Hudson River in Tribeca, in New York City, July 26, 2012. / CBS/Andy Rostron

Updated 2:38 a.m. Eastern

(CBS/AP) ELMIRA, N.Y. - The Chemung County emergency management director says buildings are damaged and hospitals are on disaster status after a possible tornado hit the city of Elmira and violent storms across the Northeast left at least one man dead.

Officials confirmed to WCBS in New York that one 61-year-old man was killed after lightning struck a church in Brooklyn, causing scaffolding to collapse.

The man, whose name wasn't immediately released, died at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. The deadly bolt of lightning hit the 175-year-old Christ Church in the Cobble Hill area as high winds and rains beat down, causing significant damage.

Michael Smith, the emergency management director in Chemung County, where Elmira is located, said the storm that hit at 4 p.m. on Thursday brought down trees and power lines, tore roofs off some buildings and caused motor vehicle accidents.

Firefighters at the scene of an electric fire after a suspected tornado struck in Elmira, N.Y., July 26, 2012.

/ AP

Dustin Hewit, a spokesman for the Arnot Health System, which runs two hospitals in the region, told CBS News they were treating "fewer than five" patients with storm-related injuries, none of which appeared to be serious. A shelter was being opened for displaced residents.

Utilities reported more than 20,000 customers without power in the area.

The storms moved through New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Thursday afternoon and evening, CBS Station WCBS reported. Power outages were reported throughout the tri-state area, and the storms halted trains in Long Island. Passengers had to leave a Long Island Rail Road train on the Oyster Bay line because a tree crashed down on the tracks, preventing service.

Clouds gather over apartment buildings ahead of a thunderstorm on the east side of Manhattan July 26, 2012, in New York.

/ Getty

JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano said about 14,000 utility customers were without power by about 8:30 p.m. He said the outages were spread across northern and southern New Jersey.

The National Weather Service said winds were expected to reach up to 60 mph with quarter-sized hail.

There were also power outages as the storms moved across Connecticut, but no widespread major damage was reported.

Connecticut Light and Power reported about 13,000 outages in southwestern Connecticut at 9 p.m. Thursday, mostly in Bethel, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield and Seymour. United Illuminating reported about 6,500 customers without power in southern Connecticut, most in Shelton and Stratford. A tornado watch for Litchfield County was allowed to expire, with no tornadoes reported. A severe thunderstorm watch for the rest of the state was cancelled mid-evening, as the storms weakened and moved offshore.

A flash flood watch remained in effect overnight for eastern Connecticut.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had partially activated Connecticut's Emergency Operations Center on Thursday afternoon as a precaution.

In Pennsylvania, sweltering heat gave way to the severe thunderstorms and high winds across much of the state, leaving more than 100,000 residents without electricity.

23 Photos

Violent storms slam Northeast

PPL Utilities reports power outages were affecting more than 3,700 customers in the Harrisburg area and over 20,000 people in northeastern Pennsylvania. Numbers were higher earlier Thursday.

Many trees were down across the state. Officials in western Pennsylvania's Jefferson County say there might have been a tornado in Barnett.

The National Weather Service discontinued severe weather watches for Massachusetts but said there could be more rain on Friday, in Massachusetts and the wider region.

[EmpireGeorge______--]

by Dancing-in-the-Streets July 27, 2012 2:55 PM EDT
Glad to hear you made it thru! : )
We had a similar storm here last week, knocked our power out for 3 days!
______________

thanks, you are very sweet.....do you use A/C, and what do you do for 3 days, without power to cool off ? a generator ? fans ? nothing, and did you food go bad ? just curious.

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

I discovered just how spoiled to AC I have become! I didn't really sleep for 2 nights! We put ICE in the Fridge and just didn't open the freezer and prayed it would make it! We lost some food, like the dairy products, but not all! We don't have a generator, our last one broke, so a new one is on our list of things we need to buy.

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

Whoevers running CBS is asleep on the job!

[EmpireGeorge______--]

the server dozed off....lol

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

ping

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

by EmpireGeorge______-- July 27, 2012 2:31 PM EDT
except this year, dancing says texas is not in the same drought situation as last year, so did Global Warming take a vacation this year ?
-----------------
I believe it just left Texas to travel to Greenland!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/greenland-ice-melt-nasa_n_1698129.html

[EmpireGeorge______--]

"and many areas are re-freezing, as cooler temperatures return"

I read that yesterday......every summer, an area the size of Europe melts at the polar caps.....and during winter, re-freezes, just like Greenland will, just like every year......I really think you have to watch the document series, frozen planet...to truely understand our planetary seasonal cycles.

[TimeToEvolve]

This is fitting into the scientific models of more and more severe storms. Longer and hotter heat waves, higher floods and more drought.

I think the only thing is that the model of the effects of man made global climate change did not predict just how fast it would occur. And of course we are burning more and more fossil fuels on a worldwide basis. And of course we have the only major political party in the world that denies it still: the Wall Street Republican Corporation Party.

[lloydbest1]

Although most models agree that "Global Warming" would likely increase the intensity of such storms as these, what I read and hear is this one was not out of the ordinary. NYC saw a jolly light show and there were downed trees and power lines all over creation but this thing was far less violent than the derecho that blasted the beltway just a few weeks ago.

I speak from the experience of having grown up in New York not far from Elmira and have seen obvious tornado damage in my own home town. I have seen thunderstorm gusts approach 90 mph and in one of them, measured three inches of rain in less than a half hour. I have had the unpleasant experience of watching trees topple over whilst still under them, and I have dodged more garbage can lids and lawn chairs than I care to mention. I agree this storm was a corker but have also lived through several that were just as bad.

One violent thunderstorm even accompanied by a tornado or two far outside the "alley" no more portends Global Warming than one p*ssant cold wave validates the denialst position. If we get several of them in close succession, or see them on a yearly basis or if they occur at odd times of the year (say, December) then we will need to rethink things.

[EmpireGeorge______--]

except this year, dancing says texas is not in the same drought situation as last year, so did Global Warming take a vacation this year ?

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

George? You okay out there in New York? ; )

[EmpireGeorge______--]

Thanks for asking, it was nearly a torando, I was hoping my trees didn't fall on the neighbor's house.

However, it was no different than any other summer thunderstorm, like I've experienced my whole life......so to TimeToEvolved it wasn't any more severe, it was a Republican storm, and it wasn't a fossil fuel burning storm, it was a simple thunderstorm, like we've had every summer.

[Dancing-in-the-Streets]

Glad to hear you made it thru! : )
We had a similar storm here last week, knocked our power out for 3 days!

[IMP578]

HAARP gone wrong. If you don't know what HAARP is get your head out of the sand and Google it.

[enlightenu]

You so crazy.

[bobnjersey]

[If you don't know what HAARP is get your head out of the sand and Google it.]
--------------------------------------------
what's 'google'?