Storm knocks out power, more rain on the way

A stalled cold front carrying heavy showers and thunderstorms hung over New York City and Long Island Sunday, knocking out electricity to more than 40,000 customers and flooding area roads and parkways.

The weather system, which moved into the region from the north and west, dropped .31 inches of rain in Central Park and .34 inches in Islip by 4 p.m. Sunday, according to John Cristantello, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton forecast office.

Cristantello said there is a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday, with the best chances for precipitation coming in the late morning and afternoon. As the day continues, the front is expected to dissipate and the arrival Tuesday of a high-pressure system will likely mean mostly dry weather through Thursday, Cristantello added.

Debbie Dieterich, spokeswoman for the Long Island Power Authority, said 43,800 customers experienced power outages yesterday and about 31,000 of them had power restored by 5 p.m. She said blown fuses and downed wires were the main causes for power interruptions.

"We have extra crews working and we're hoping to get everybody restored this evening," she said yesterday.

The areas hit hardest by outages were Plainview, Levittown, East Meadow and Bellmore as well as Hempstead and Garden City, she said.

Cablevision customers also experienced some isolated, power-related interruptions, according to spokesman Jim Maiella.

Southern State Parkway eastbound lanes around Exit 42 were closed more than an hour yesterday afternoon due to flooding, the State Police said, and westbound Long Island Rail Road service was suspended between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma due to a weather-related third rail problem at Deer Park.

_{©newsday.com}