Severe thunderstorm brings widespread damage and outages to northern New York

Severe thunderstorms swept across Jefferson and Lewis counties in the state of New York on Tuesday, bringing down trees and power lines and leaving hundreds of residents without electricity.

According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts of up to 70mph were forecast as the storm moved through the region.

The severe weather caused widespread damage, with several reports of fallen trees blocking roads and damaging property.

One of the hardest-hit areas was the town of Denmark, where resident Lori Atkinson described to local media the dramatic moments as the storm struck her home.

She said: “I made it to the garage to close it, and all of a sudden, all this debris came from my tree up there and I had to drag it out of the way to close the garage door. By that time, I heard something like a freight train and I lost 3 giant trees out back.”

“One took out my pool. Another just missed my grandkids’ swing set. And another one is ripped right out from the roots and laying in my neighbor’s yard.”

National Grid's outage map showed hundreds of customers without power at the height of the storm, with the largest outages reported in the Cape Vincent, Chaumont and Lorraine areas.

The National Weather Service later lifted its severe thunderstorm warning but said a severe thunderstorm watch would remain in effect until 8pm as conditions continued to be monitored.