Buffy, batton down the hatches!

This is the front edge of the severe thunderstorm system that reeked havoc throughout New York, New Jersey and PA yesterday afternoon.

I took this as I ran from my cozy spot on the Southampton Beach, moments before powerful wind gusts and torrential downpours forced us off the beach, back into our car, and onto flooded roads (and what was the eventual 4 hour drive back into the city).

If you look carefully along the horizon, you can see one place where the clouds meet the water: that was a water spout (a water tornado). As we ran back to the car, I saw several funnel clouds forming over the parking lot.

Below is a listing of reported conditions from this storm in Nassau/Suffolk Counties by the Coast Guard and other local weatherstations' website:

-FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS

-EST 60 MPH WIND AT MONTAUK HARBOR

-EXIT 43 ON THE LIE CLOSED, CARS STRANDED

-RESCUES AT MERITTS RD AND HEMPSTEAD TNPK

-NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL

-IMPASSABLE FLOODING ON FLOYD ROAD

-TREES, FLAGPOLE, WIRES DOWN, WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES MONTAUK HWY AND WILLIAM FLOYD PARKWAY AREA

-POWER LINES DOWN MATTITUCK AVE AND BAYER RD

-PILOT REPORTED FUNNEL 2 MILES EAST OF FRG, REPUBLIC AIRPORT

-5 INJ LIGHTNING
(from what I gather, INJ is a measurement or scale from 1 to 5 that rates the power and energy, via wavelengths, of a single stroke of lightning and this storm produced the strongest bolt)