Powerful Storms Slam Tri-State Causing Massive Damage And Bringing Heat Relief

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) --  Fierce storms rumbled across the Tri-State Wednesday, bringing with them thunder, lightning, heavy rain and hail while leaving behind a trail of power outages and destruction.

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The storms left their mark by knocking down trees and power lines. Flooding in parts of the area could remain a problem.

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While there was plenty of damage done earlier in the day, the heatwave that has gripped local residents for the past few days was busted up.

In fact, AccuWeather said the temperature dropped 25 degrees in about 30 minutes as the storms moved through.

Widespread power outages are affecting customers across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

PHOTO GALLERY: Storm Hits Tri-State Area

1010 WINS' Al Jones Reports From Midtown

Thunder and lightning hit Manhattan hard and left behind pea-sized hail and heavy rain, making it nearly impossible to see while driving at one point, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.

A tree came crashing down in front of a home on 63rd Street in Woodside, Queens, damaging the house and bringing power lines down with it.

1010 WINS' Holli Haerr Reports From Woodside

One woman who spoke with 1010 WINS' Holli Haerr was inside the home, cooking with her sister when the incident happened.

"[It was] a very big noise -- very.  We were afraid," she said.

WATCH: Hail Storm Video Posted On YouTube (WARNING: SOME OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE)

The fire department came to block the street until Con Edison eventually could come in and make repairs.

On Long Island, the severe storms barreled through Glen Cove destroying a gazebo and knocked down trees and power lines.  CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported that 150-year-old Oak trees "came down like dominoes."

1010 WINS' Holli Haerr Reports From Glen Cove

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said most of the damage occurred on the North Shore, including Syosset and areas along Route 25A.

"It was a busy little storm," Mangano told 1010 WINS. "We're assessing the damage, we're removing the debris and trying to make it safe for our residents as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, in Elwood, Long Island, 84-year-old Dorothy Shark told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall she had a feeling something bad was about to happen and then her house shook and she heard a loud bang.

WCBS 880's Sophia Hall Reports From Elwood

"Lightning was very, very loud. I mean, I never heard it that loud directly over the house," she said.

Shark said she walked outside and saw that her home was on fire. While firefighters battled the blaze, all she could think about was her constant companion -- her cat Nemo.

But the story had a happy ending when a firefighter came out of the home with the cat that was hiding under the bed.

In Connecticut, Mitch Gross at the CL&P emergency operations center said the strong storms that raced across the state caused outages in many towns in the service area.

In New Canaan, he said an outage started with a problem in an underground cable in the downtown area.

"We had to cut the power to that circuit as well as two other circuits that serve the downtown area so our crews could safely make repairs," Gross told WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau.

WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau Reports On Connecticut Storm Damage

At one point, half the town was briefly without power. Gross said CL&P crews are mobilized across Connecticut to repair the damage brought on by the very strong storms.

Meanwhile, the strong winds grabbed hold of a 40-foot tree in New City and snapped it off from the base and ripped down a power line so it snaked across Duane Avenue, CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported.

"When I come with my car I see the wire right on my driveway. I was scared to go in because the electric or something I was scared," resident Alfredo DeRose said.

In Sayreville, New Jersey, a lightening strike also caused some extensive damage.

The chimney of one home was hit, sending brick and debris flying. However, the homeowner was not hurt, but was stunned at the damage.

"I heard crack and glass shatter and my heart just skipped a beat and I was like I looked and called my husband," Barbara Connors said.

Wires and trees were also reported down in Dutchess and Middlesex counties. In Nassau and Passaic counties, trees were reported down, some landing on cars.

RAW VIDEO: Hail Strikes Midtown Office Building (courtesy: Roxanne Geyer)

Thursday will be less hot and humid with clouds and some sun.  There could also be a stray shower or thunderstorm around.  The high will be 87 degrees.

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• Ed Mangano