Prolific storms cause flooding, lightning strikes in New Jersey and New York

Friday evening brought yet another round of prolific thunderstorms to the Tri-State Area.

Following the trend of what seems like endless amounts of severe weather this summer, the batch of storms brought flooding rains, damaging winds and even some hail. They also caused thousands of power outages across the region.

Rainfall across the area amounted to 1-2.5 inches, while 1-inch sized hail was reported in Pearl River, New York.

Lightning strike sparks fire at Westchester County apartments

Fire officials in Ossining, Westchester County, say a lightning strike caused a fire just after 7 p.m. at the Parth Knolls Apartment Complex on Hawkes Avenue.

Flames engulfed the multi-family apartment complex as a powerful storm rolled though.

"We heard a bam, big crash," resident Catherine Constable said.

She says minutes later, her neighbor smelled smoked, and she went outside and saw the flames, which kept growing.

"It was like a wildfire," she said.

Resident Debbie Refino says she moved into the apartment complex when it opened five years ago and was out having dinner when she got a call that her building was on fire. She arrived to find flames shooting out.

"It's heartbreaking," she said. "We're all in shock. It's shocking ... Maybe I'll have some things to save, but there will be a lot of water damage. They said the roof is totally gone."

The Red Cross said they were assisting eight people.

New Jersey storm damage

Parts of New Jersey were clobbered when that severe weather moved in, causing major flooding in some towns and a slew of power outages.

The rain was unapologetic at times and packed a punch in towns like Hawthorne, where in a matter of minutes, roads like Goffle Road looked like rivers.

"This storm came in ferocious. It was like, wow," Hawthorne Fire Chief Joseph Speranza said. "I haven't seen lightning like that in New Jersey I don't think in all my lifetime."

The torrential downpours kept the Hawthorne Fire Department busy through the late evening, where they made 25 rescues including one dog that was pulled from a car.

Flash flooding has been a recurring trend in town, where for the past three weeks, rescue operations have been the norm. Speranza offered some advice to drivers.

"If you're concerned about it, find a parking lot, stay stationary until the water comes down," he said. "You're gonna take 15 minutes out of your day trip."

Drivers are also being urged not to ignore barricades during these severe weather events – a trend the fire department says has been on rise, leading to more stuck vehicles.

In Hackensack, heavy rain pelted cars traveling along River Road, which almost looked like a ride at a water park. The situation was not any better along Hackensack Road, where drivers carefully navigated high waters.

In nearby Paramus, a mix of torrential rain and high winds served up a potentially dangerous situation outside Paramus Catholic High School.

What looked like waves washed up along Main Street in Bogota.

Both severe flooding and power outages plagued Hoboken late into the evening as drivers struggled to get by along Willow Street.

The storm also made a mess of the evening commute. Several trees fell on train tracks, impacting NJ Transit service.