Sunday, August 12, 2012

US storms: torrential rain in New York City and possible tornado in Elmira (16pics)

Lightning strikes the antenna on the top of the Empire State Building in New York City during a summer thunderstorm

Dark clouds hover over the Empire State Building and Manhattan

Pedestrians' umbrellas buckle under high winds as a massive storm looms above Times Square

A house in Elmira, New York, is damaged by a falling tree after the town was hit by severe thunderstorms

Jessica Stansfield poses for a photo below an enormous uprooted tree in Elmira, New York, after the town was hit by a tornado. Severe thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across parts of the Midwest and Northeast, grounding hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. The storms spawned a tornado that touched down in Elmira.

A storm cloud begins to dump rain as it passes over the Brooklyn borough of New York

Singing in the rain: Are Kjeldsberg-Skauby, 12, from Norway, dances during a torrential downpour in Times Square

Clouds gather over apartment buildings ahead of a thunderstorm on the east side of Manhattan in New York

Fallen trees and downed power lines lie on a street in Elmira

Dark storm clouds loom over Brooklyn

A pedestrian smiles as she runs through a torrential downpour in Times Square, in New York

Gary Dunning surveys the damage to his business in Elmira

Part of a roof lies on a pavement in Elmira after the town was hit by a tornado

Downed power lines and trees are pictured on a street in Elmira

Pedestrians huddle under an umbrella in Times Square

Storm clouds loom over Times Square