NEW YORK, NY — Cleanup crews worked Wednesday across the Tri-State Area after severe weather swept through Tuesday evening, damaging cars, flooding roads and raising questions about whether tornadoes touched down in parts of New York and New Jersey.
Officials and residents were still assessing the extent of the destruction as crews cleared debris and waited for more information from the National Weather Service.
What did the storms do in the region?
Heavy rain triggered flooding in familiar trouble spots, including the Bronx River Parkway in White Plains. Video from the storm also showed what appeared to be rotation in Parsippany, New Jersey, while another image suggested a possible tornado in Dover.
Both New Jersey towns were under tornado warnings as the storms moved through. The weather service said it would survey the affected areas to determine whether one or more tornadoes actually reached the ground.
What happened on 95th Street in Elmhurst?
In Elmhurst, Queens, high winds brought down a large tree along 95th Street, crushing several parked cars. One of them belonged to resident Leonor Estevez, whose Honda sedan was trapped beneath the trunk.
Estevez said she immediately called for her husband after seeing the tree fall on the car. City workers later documented the scene before Parks Department crews brought in a crane to lift the trunk off the vehicle and move it to the sidewalk.
How are residents dealing with the damage?
For Estevez, the loss is especially difficult because she recently had surgery and relies on her car to get around. She said she was already speaking with her insurance company and expected an adjuster to inspect the damage.
She also said the vehicle could be a total loss, adding to the uncertainty facing neighbors whose streets and property were hit by the storm.
What happens next?
The National Weather Service said it planned to complete surveys of the New Jersey areas and release its findings by Wednesday night. Those results should help determine whether the storm produced tornadoes or only strong straight-line winds.
Until then, crews continued clearing blocked streets and removing debris, while residents and officials worked to restore access and assess the full cost of the damage.
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