A fast-moving line of storms Tuesday brought near-hurricane-strength wind gusts and heavy rain, while downing trees and snarling transit in New York City during the heart of the evening commute.
Transit changes
The NYPD has restored full access to 42 St-Grand Central, Times Square-42 St, and 42 St/Port Authority Bus Terminal following heavy crowding earlier Tuesday.
Thousands of commuters were stranded at Grand Central Station, as Metro-North temporarily suspended service on the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven lines earlier Tuesday. Most entrances at the station were also temporarily closed to prevent overcrowding.
Downed trees impacted some subway lines. Visit mta.info for the latest updates.
Commuters should expect delays on MetroNorth service:
As of 9:57 p.m., Harlem line service has resumed with limited service between Grand Central Terminal and White Plains, and very limited service between White Plains and Mount Kisco. Service north of Mount Kisco remains suspended due to multiple downed trees.
As of 9:10 p.m., the Hudson line was operating with limited service between Grand Central Terminal and Croton-Harmon, and very limited service to Peekskill with delays of up to 60 minutes. Service north of Peekskill was suspended due to multiple downed trees.
New Haven Line service has resumed with delays of up to 30 minutes, as of 9:45 p.m.
Check MetroNorth's page for the latest updates.
Amtrak service between New York and New Haven has been restored.
Downed trees
Wind gusts over 70 miles per hour were reported in the city during the worst of the storms, wreaking havoc on trees. Trees were downed in areas including Kew Gardens Hills, Prospect Heights, and Inwood. Some residents said a tree that came down in Kew Gardens Hills crushed a car right after a mother parked it with her kids inside. There were also reports of a downed tree on the Grand Central Parkway and on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Power outages
As of 11:03 p.m., about 200 people were out of power in the city, with 159 of them in Queens.
Call 1-800 75CONED if your power is out. See Con Edison's outage map to see the latest information on when power will return.
During any power outage, you are advised to:
Stay clear of downed power lines
Turn off all appliances
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to prevent food from going bad
Do not use generators indoors
The timing of the storms
The worst of the storm swung through the city around 5 p.m., bringing dangerous winds until shortly before 6 p.m.
Shortly before 6:25 p.m., a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the city was dropped, as the line of storms moved out over the Atlantic Ocean and the threat of dangerous winds ended. A few showers are possible Tuesday night and overnight, but the rain has stopped in the city overall. The storms were projected to bring more than 2 inches of rain, so some parts of the city, such as low-lying areas, saw flooding.
The temperature has dropped significantly; after the mercury read 88 degrees shortly after 4 p.m., temperatures have fallen into the 60s.
Weather outlook for the rest of the week
Clouds, showers, and cooler conditions are in store for Wednesday. Temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s, and most of the rain is projected to be light.
Thursday is expected to bring a warmup and partly to mostly cloudy skies, before clouds and rain return Friday.
Unsettled conditions are projected to continue Saturday.