Posted: Sunday, 07 September 2008 12:07PM
Tri-State Cleans Up After Tropical Storm Hanna
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NEW YORK (AP/ WCBS 880) -- Tropical Storm Hanna has come and gone, but the surf on some of Long Island's beaches is still too rough for swimming.
Swimming was prohibited Sunday at Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park and Hither Hill State Park in Montauk.
But George Gorman of the New York State Parks Department says the storm didn't cause much beach erosion when it blew through the area on Saturday.
As of noon, roughly 1,000 are without power on Long Island, CL&P is reporting about 1,900 without power. A few hundred for each ConEd and PSE&G.
IN CONNECTICUT:
Connecticut is cleaning up after Tropical Storm Hanna blew quickly through the state.
Less than 9,000 customers of Connecticut Light and Power were without power Sunday morning. United Illuminating says only a few dozen customers didn't have power.
Hanna dumped as much as 6 inches of rain as it rolled through Connecticut and up the coast late Saturday. The storm forced some festivals and fairs to shut down, and dampened some basements, but didn't cause widespread destruction that was first feared.
There were tornado warnings in Fairfield County, but no damage was reported.
In Milford, Mayor James Richetelli Jr. says the shoreline community was prepared to open an emergency shelter, but ``none of the weather conditions anticipated materialized here.''
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CLICK on the photos and follow the storm via traffic cameras up the coast.
Need to get around New York City? CLICK HERE for any updates from the MTA.
SEE: Photos of Hanna Damage Along East Coast 
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IN NEW JERSEY:
Tropical Storm Hanna's bark was lot worse than her bite when it came to New Jersey.
Forecasters feared the massive storm system would cause major problems for the Garden State, with high winds and heavy rains predicted to sock the state yesterday.
And while the fast-moving system caused scattered power outages and numerous flooded roadways, authorities say New Jersey escaped relatively unscathed.
Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were reported along the Jersey Shore, and about 2 to 4 inches of rain had fallen in most areas as of late last night, with the higher amounts in northern areas.
Many events and festivals across the state were canceled or delayed due to concerns about the storm's strength.
But others went on as planned when it became apparent that the storm's impact on New Jersey wasn't as severe as expected.
IN NEW YORK:
Tropical Storm Hanna dropped a month's worth of rain within hours Saturday, flooding highways, delaying flights and halting the U.S. Open Tennis tournament. But officials reported no major damage.
The storm dropped three or more inches of rain on parts of the city and more in some northern suburbs, the National Weather Service said. Nearly six inches was measured in Rockland County. The metropolitan area normally gets three to four inches of rain in the entire month of September.
Wind gusts reached 40 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist John Koch said.
Stretches of several highways in the city, Long Island and Westchester County were closed because of flooding, and a fallen tree briefly closed part of the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, police and city officials said.
Three apartment buildings in the Woodside section of Queens also grappled with some flooding, but residents didn't have to evacuate, city Office of Emergency Management spokesman Chris Gilbride said.
``Overall, we're doing all right,'' he said.
The storm forced the U.S. women's final off its usual Saturday date for the first time in 34 years and postponed one men's semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. Hanna also washed out the Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets game at Shea Stadium.
Utilities said more than 7,800 homes and businesses were without power in the region, mainly on Long Island. Flight delays were as long as four hours at the region's major airports.
City and suburban officials took pains to prepare for the storm. They cleared catch basins and street drains, and some areas prepared shelters in case they were needed.
Nassau County, on Long Island, had 20 shelters stocked with food and water and ready to hold as many as 34,000 people, emergency management commissioner Jim Callahan said. Adjacent Suffolk County also prepared shelters and closed all parks and campgrounds at 4 p.m., County Executive Steve Levy said.
The Red Cross opened two shelters on Long Island and said it had1,500 volunteers ready to help.
The storm was expected to clear the area overnight.
``Most people will wake up tomorrow morning and like what they see,'' Koch said.
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© MMVIII WCBS 880, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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