Torrential rain blamed for at least one death flooded subways and rail lines and delayed flights early Wednesday at New York's three major airports and thousands of commuters were stranded for two hours or more, according to AP. The thunderstorms prompted brief tornado warnings and flash flood warnings before giving way to a sunny, humid day. Wind and heavy rain toppled trees onto cars and streets, caused scattered power outages and left some shops shuttered and businesses struggling with shortages of workers. A woman whose car got stuck in an underpass was killed when her car was struck by another one from behind, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The National Weather Service was sending an investigator to Brooklyn to determine if a tornado had struck, meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki said. All subway lines in the city experienced delays or diversions, and some rail lines to Grand Central Terminal and some rail routes from New Jersey into Manhattan were shut down for more than an hour. «We have been advising customers to avoid the system if possible because there is extensive flooding on the tracks,» NYC Transit spokeswoman Marisa Baldel said. There were delays of up to an hour and a half at John F. Kennedy International Airport and about an hour at LaGuardia International Airport due to the storms, said Alan Hicks, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
