This aerial view shows storm damage to Brookfield, Conn., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving more then 200,000 homes and businesses without power. (John Woike/Hartford Courant via AP)
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NEW YORK (AP) - Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving at least four people dead and more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power.
Connecticut officials said two people in New Fairfield and Danbury were killed Tuesday in separate accidents when trees fell on their trucks, including a woman whose 3-year-old child escaped injury. In New York, falling trees in Newburgh claimed the lives of an 11-year-old girl in a parked car and a woman who was driving.
More than 157,000 utility customers in New York were without power midday Wednesday. In Connecticut, the state's two major utilities reported 90,000 without electricity, most in the western part of the state. An official said it could take days to get the power back on.
The storms downed trees and power lines across the region. Several lightning strikes led to structure fires in New Jersey and Massachusetts. New York's Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. reported 78 mph wind gusts on Tuesday and about 1,000 lighting strikes per hour.
The National Weather Service said the strong thunderstorms created a small weather-generated tsunami off the New Jersey coast. Known as a meteotsnuami, it resulted in fluctuating water levels for several hours. But there were no reports of damage from the abnormally high tides reported in areas from Perth Amboy in New Jersey to Delaware's Fenwick Island.
Roads in many towns were impassible and some schools canceled classes on Wednesday due to the damage.
Airlines also canceled and delayed flights in and out of the region.
In New York City on Tuesday evening, thousands of commuters were stranded in Grand Central Terminal after rail lines were temporarily suspended due to downed trees on the tracks. Concourses were packed with passengers waiting for service to resume.
In this Tuesday, May 15, 2018 photo, storm clouds gather over New York city seen from the Hudson River. A line of strong storms pushed across New York City and badly disrupted the evening commute, stranding thousands of train riders. (AP Photo/Denis Paquin)
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Downed trees and power lines block Main Street South in Bridgewater, Conn., after severe storms rolled through the area Tuesday, May 15, 2018.Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving more 200,000 homes and businesses without power. (John Woike/Hartford Courant via AP)
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Chris Fletcher,left, and his wife Noel survey the storm damage to their home in Cheshire with a Cheshire volunteer firefighter on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving more then 200,000 homes and businesses without power. (Patrick Raycraft/Hartford Courant via AP)
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Two women look at the storm damage in Bridgewater, Conn., Tuesday, May 15, 2018. after severe storms rolled through the area. Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving more then 200,000 homes and businesses without power. (John Woike/Hartford Courant via AP)
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Commuters are stranded in Grand Central Terminal during the evening commute, Tuesday, May 15, 2018, in New York. The Metro-North commuter railroad said Tuesday evening that downed trees across the tracks had caused it to suspend service on its Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines. (AP Photo/Donald King
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A Freightliner tractor-trailer, which was overturned by strong winds associated with a thunderstorm, rests on a barrier on a bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at Danville, Pa., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The driver, Mariusz Jarosz, of Des Plaines, Illinois, suffered a hand injury and was transported to a hospital. (Larry Deklinski/The News-Item via AP)
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Emergency personnel look at a Freightliner tractor-trailer, which was overturned by strong winds associated with a thunderstorm, while crossing the Susquehanna River at Danville, Pa., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The driver, Mariusz Jarosz, of Des Plaines, Illinois, suffered a hand injury and was transported to a hospital. (Larry Deklinski/The News-Item via AP)
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Commuters are stranded during the evening commute at Grand Central Terminal in New York on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The Metro-North commuter railroad said Tuesday evening that downed trees across the tracks had caused it to suspend service on its Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines. Entrances to Grand Central Terminal were closed and passengers were being turned away to prevent the station from getting too crowded. (AP Photo/Donald King)
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Commuters are stranded in Grand Central Terminal during the evening commute, Tuesday, May 15, 2018, in New York. The Metro-North commuter railroad said Tuesday evening that downed trees across the tracks had caused it to suspend service on its Harlem, Hudson and New Haven lines. (AP Photo/Donald King
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A man walks past damage caused by a storm in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Debris from a storm-damaged building lies in the street in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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A man enters a building past debris caused by a storm in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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A man clears downed branches and debris on the grounds of Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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A man uses a broom to push-up a low power line damaged by a storm so a truck can pass underneath in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Men stand near buildings damaged by a storm in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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A utility crew works to clear a roadway of storm debris in Newburgh, N.Y., Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Powerful storms pounded the Northeast on Tuesday with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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