Powerful storm slams Upstate NY: family trapped by fallen tree, thousands without power

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Wind gusts as high as 79 mph knocked down wires and trees across much of Upstate New York on Tuesday, knocking out power to more than 100,000 customers and briefly trapping an Auburn family in their home after a tree crashed into it.

Winds will diminish today but remain strong, and are expected to generate heavy lake effect snow off Lake Ontario. Some schools are closed today due to continued power outages or heavy snowfall. The National Weather Service has issued a lake effect snow warning for Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego counties, where 8 to 16 inches of snow could fall amid 40 mph wind gusts.

The damage was greatest in Western New York and the North Country, where falling trees and branches downed wires, cutting out power and blocking roads. The village of Dexter, in Jefferson County, posted the highest wind speed, 79 mph. Category 1 hurricane wind speeds start at 74 mph.

In Central New York, Cayuga County was hard-hit. A large tree was uprooted and fell onto a two-story house in Auburn about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday, trapping three people inside, the weather service reported. The family, including children ages 2 and 4, were rescued unharmed, the Auburn Citizen reported.

The Cayuga County Office Building, also in Auburn, suffered roof damage and will be closed today, the county said.

The peak wind gust at Hancock International Airport was 45 mph, at about 11 p.m. A high wind alert remains in place today for much of Upstate New York, with gusts up to 45 mph.

At the height of the storm, more than 28,000 customers in Central New York were without power, National Grid said. More than 17,000 outages remain in Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison, Oswego, Oneida, and Cortland counties.

New York State Gas and Electric, which covers much of Upstate New York, still has 57,000 customers without power this morning.

Flooding was less widespread than forecasters had feared, as rainfall amounts turned out to be lower than predicted and cooler temperatures slowed the melting of snow. A few roads were closed at the southern edge of the Hudson Valley, but the worst of the flooding was farther south and closer to the coast, in New Jersey and on Long Island.

Forecasters are watching yet another storm system for this weekend that could bring rain, snow and high winds.