Powerful Thunderstorms Hit Long Island, PSEG Restoring Power to Thousands

UPDATE: Photos: Splendid Sunset, Rainbows Follow Storms

UPDATE: PSEG Long Island is reporting more than 1,800 of its customers are without power as of 10:52 p.m. See the full outage map here.

Original story:

The National Weather Service has extended a severe thunderstorm watch for Long Island until 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The watch, which was originally set to expire at 4 p.m., reads:

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS.

So far Tuesday, the severe storms have stayed north and west of Long Island, but showers and thunderstorms are likely this afternoon and evening in the area. Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds, heavy rain and frequent lightning, the NWS says.

The threat of severe weather will end Tuesday night, with skies clearing overnight and much drier air filtering in, the NWS says. Mostly clear skies are in the forecast Wednesday, which will be a little cooler–high temps in the low-to-mid 80s–and much less humid than today.

Find the detailed extended forecast here.

Photo: AccuWeather.com