An assistant New York state attorney general was killed during severe storms that barreled through the Northeast, killing at least two others as they unleashed strong winds and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
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An assistant
New York state attorney general was killed during severe
storms that barreled through the Northeast, killing at least
two others as they unleashed strong winds and knocked out
power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
By Khara Lewin, CNN
updated 4:30 PM EDT, Fri July 27, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A tornado touched down in Montrose, Pennsylvania, on Thursday,
forecasters said
"Trees were bending sideways," a man in New Jersey says
The National Weather Service reports possible tornado
touchdowns in the Northeast
(CNN) -- An assistant New York state attorney general was killed
during severe storms that barreled through the Northeast, killing
at least two others as they unleashed strong winds and knocked out
power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I would like to express my sympathy
to the loved ones of Assistant Attorney General Richard Schwartz,
who tragically lost his life during last night's severe storm,"
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Friday.
The storms struck Thursday, and at one point that evening, severe
thunderstorm watches were in effect for a continuous stretch from
Oklahoma through New Jersey.
In Pennsylvania, a tree crushed a woman in her car as she sought
shelter at a campsite, killing her, said Glenn Dunn, the emergency
management coordinator for Potter County.
Tornadoes touched down in the Pennsylvania towns of Coudersport
and Montrose on Thursday, forecasters said after conducting a
survey of the area.
The one in Coudersport was rated an EF-1 with a maximum wind speed
of 90 mph, and the Montrose one was an EF-0 with maximum winds of
80 mph, the National Weather Service said.
The service also reported that damage in Elmira, New York, was
caused by an EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum wind speeds as
high as 110 mph.
In New York City, a 61-year-old man died Thursday when lightning
struck a Brooklyn church, sending a scaffold crashing down on him,
authorities said.
Witnesses reported trees in the region buckling under the severe
weather's impact.
"The trees were bending sideways, (and) the sky just went really
dark and green," Mark Ventrini, a photographer, reported seeing as
he headed toward Belmar, New Jersey. "Some of the storms were
pretty intense."
Emergency managers in Broome County, New York, reported people
trapped inside a home because of downed trees in the town of
Vestal.
Strong storms also caused damage in Binghamton, New York, but the
weather service said no injuries or fatalities were reported
there.
There were also extensive power outages. More than 100,000 First
Energy customers in Pennsylvania didn't have electricity Thursday
night, while other utilities such as PECO and PPL reported tens of
thousands of others similarly in the dark.
Cuomo issued a news release stating there were nearly 95,000 homes
and businesses without power in New York state, mostly NYSEG and
Central Hudson customers.
He also declared a state of emergency for hard-hit Chemung County
in the southwestern part of the state.
"The brunt of the storm itself was intense but short -- there was
very strong rain and wind for about 15 minutes, at which point the
rain cleared and the lightning show began," said Matthew Burke, a
CNN iReporter who photographed lightning sprawling across the New
York City skyline.
CNN's Greg Botelho, Lila King, Julie Cannold and Dominique Dodley
contributed to this report.