Were you wiping street grit from your eyes and forging past flying plastic bags yesterday? There were winds gusts of up to 38 mph in Central Park, downing trees, delaying flights, power outages, and causing other chaos in the area. And the region is still under a wind advisory today.

In Queens, a tree fell onto a three-story house in the Richmond Hills sections. Youngster Nancy Mendez told WABC 7, "I was in my room, I thought it was an earthquake. I was really scared." Luckily the tree only damaged the porch and windows, and the girl added, "The signal isn't that nice -- the Direct TV -- but they said it's gonna be okay." Phew! Another down tree in Queens fell on power lines, starting a small fire at a house, which was put out quickly.

Elsewhere, debris from a building at 57th Street and Broadway fell onto a MTA bus, prompting reminders from the Department of Buildings that construction debris and loose materials must be tied down. WABC 7 also reported, "The high winds swept one woman out to sea when she was swimming in Brooklyn. The gusts and the currents carried her out to the rocks, several yards from the Brighton Beach shoreline." She was rescued with minor injuries.