A severe thunderstorm can potentially bring down wires, transformers, and trees, cutting out power for residents, Con Edison warns. In this photo, a lightning bolt strikes down during a storm with the One World Trade Center tower, left, as a backdrop on July 23, 2014, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio
A flash flood warning has been issues for Staten Island and other parts of New York City until 8 p.m., says Notify NYC: “Heavy rain of between 0.5 and 1 inch of rain have fallen. Additional 1 to 2 inches are expected and will cause flooding in the city, including on highways, streets, and underpasses as well as other poor drainage areas and low-lying spots.”
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Tonight, a severe thunderstorm can potentially bring down wires, transformers, and trees, cutting out power for residents, Con Edison warns.
In a written statement, Con Ed said that they are preparing crews “to respond to any outages that occur due to the severe rain and windstorms expected to hit New York City and Westchester County.”
The National Weather Service declared a severe thunderstorm warning and a flood advisory, projecting that Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens will be at the mercy of inch-sized hail and 60 mile-per-hour winds.
Anywhere from half an inch to an inch of rain will pour down onto New York City, spurring floods in places like “small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage areas and low lying spots,” the advisory said.
Should areas lose power tonight, Con Ed will prioritize restoration based on importance. “Mass transit, hospitals, police and fire stations, and sewage and water-pumping stations,” come first. Then, employees will work on areas with widespread outages, before tending to tinier nucleuses without electricity.
AccuWeather’s website states that the thunderstorm will roll in during the evening hours, sparking “flash flooding and localized damaging wind gusts,” on top of hail and downpours.
This thunderstorm is the first one anticipated to hit Staten Island this week, but it won’t be the last.
The Fourth of July, with all of its bright, bursting fireworks, may be hampered by potential thunderstorms and humidity as temperatures reach a high of 86 degrees.
“I certainly wouldn’t be cancelling the outdoors plans yet, but [it’s] something to keep in mind,” Senior AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines told the Advance/SILive.com today, as the weather becomes a bit more “unsettled” later this week.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will follow a similar pattern to the Fourth of July, with the humidity blanketing Staten Island and thunderstorms lurking in the skies above.
Con Ed’s statement advises residents to stay away from any downed wires or transformers, as they can still be live. If you should lose power, the statement additionally states that you shouldn’t “plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors, or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.”
To report an outage or a downed wire or transformer, Con Ed customers can opt into a text thread with Con Ed, or by calling Con Ed directly at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633), the statement detailed.
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