Tens of Thousands Without Power After Violent Thunderstorms

A surprisingly strong line of thunderstorms battered the Hudson Valley leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.

Wednesday's forecast called for the possibility of thunderstorms, but not many people were expecting what blew through last night. Skies darkened and thunder and lightning clapped through the sky as the rain began pouring down. But the worst part of the storm was the wind, which brought down trees and branches that blocked roadways and interrupted power throughout the Mid-Hudson Region.

Damaging Storm Rocks Hudson Valley, New York

At our house, we lost power just before 9pm. Reports from neighbors came in saying that they heard loud explosions with transformers going off and trees crashing down on wires.

Rockland Video captured footage of downed power lines on fire in Highland Mills and fallen trees on homes in Goshen and Washigtonville. Similar stores appeared throughout Dutchess, Orange and Rockland Counties.

Power Outages Continue Thursday Morning

While we were lucky to have our power restored by 2am on Thursday, tens of thousands of Hudson Valley residents are still in the dark. Orange & Rockland called in 100 extra crew members to help tackle over 30,000 customers who were without power. That number has significantly gone down, but many residents still find themselves without electricity.

Central Hudson Reports that as of Thursday morning, it still had over 25,000 customers without power. In a statement, the company said it vowed to remain working "until the last customer is restored."

Downed Wires and Trees to Affect Thursday Commutes

Early Thursday, Metro-North temporarily suspended service between Wassaic and Harlem Valley-Wingdale due to downed wires. Bus service was offered to customers between Wassaic and Grand Central Terminal.

Downed trees were still blocking some Hudson Valley roadways on Thursday morning, forcing some commuters to reroute their drive to work.

We will continue to update you on the latest power restoration and traffic information throughout the day. You can stay connected by listening live on our free mobile app:

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