A young couple was fatally electrocuted during yesterday's storms. The flooded streets in Queens stalled 19 year-old Alana Berenson and 23 year-old Joseph Cheetham's car, so they got out - not noticing a power line dangling in the 30 inches of standing water. Berenson was electrocuted first, and Cheetham got out of the chair to help her when he was electrocuted. Newsday reports that the power line was felled by the lighting, according power company. Gothamist wants to remind everyone that if there's lightning, staying in the car is pretty safe since it has rubber tires, which grounds the electricity, versus water which conducts it.
The NY Times reports that the thousands of home, both in Brooklyn and Westchester lost power; also, the 3.83 inches of rain that fell at JFK was a one-day record. Some airports are experiencing delays into this morning and are bracing for more rain today.
Yesterday's lightning and rain was practically biblical; for those few hours - it was just pouring and pouring and the sky would then light up. Gothamist Weather had a brilliant take on the situation.
