Event Summary

A line of servere thunderstorms passing through the metropolitan area left Long Island families without power for a time, flooded scores of roadways and disrupted Long Island Railroad service. Airports also reported delays up to three hours on arrivals and departures. Subway service throughout New York City was dirupted with all service stopped on some lines. Hundreds of electrical outages were reported throughout the city. The outages were caused by various factors including lighting, wind, and rain. ConED at that time was hit by a strike. Lighting ripped into a picnic area of Flushing Meadow Park, killing two soccer players from the Bronx when they were taking shelther from the thunderstorm by standing under a tree when lightning struck. They were dead on arrival at the hospital. Another man was also struck by lighting in the same area. He was taken to a hospital, treated for first degree burns on his left hand, and released in stable condition. They were all members of a soccer team; when the downpour started they ran under a tree for cover and were struck by the lightning.