An unexpected storm today wreaked havoc in Riverhead with heavy rains that flooded area roadways and brought the Polish Town street fair to a standstill just as it was about to get underway.
A lightning strike took down a main power line on Main Road, near Church Lane, shutting down the road from County Road 105 in Riverhead to Washington Avenue. The downed power line burned a hole in the pavement and was arcing in the roadway and a traffic signal was not operating, police said. Main Road was reopened at 2:30 p.m.
PSEG is reporting 2,672 customers without power in the Town of Riverhead in the hamlets of Aquebogue, Jamesport and Northville.
The arrival, duration and intensity of the storm took forecasters by surprised. This morning, the forecast called for scattered showers. Instead, a storm system brought hail to some places and a reported funnel cloud in Riverhead.
At 12:25 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for central and northeastern Suffolk. It remains in place until 3:15.
Heavy rains developed into a downpour just after Polish Town fair vendors finished setting up this morning. After two hours of heavy rain that flooded the streets and collapsed more than a few vendors’ canopies, some merchants started packing up their wares and calling it quits. The streets were mostly empty of potential customers.
Most said they would stick it out to see what happened after the storm pulled out, hoping to salvage at least part of the day.
The rain overwhelmed storm drains all over town, causing local flooding. Much of Heidi Behr Way along the Peconic River in downtown Riverhead was inundated. Several cars stalled on water-covered roads, including Peconic Bay Boulevard, West Lane Hubbard Avenue and Middle Road. Middle Road was closed from Northville Turnpike to Doctors Path.
The rain slowed and ended across most of Riverhead by 2 p.m. and in Polish Town, street festival vendors began removing tarps and getting back to business.
A lot of vendors stuck it out and customers are returning to the popular annual street fair.
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