Storm downs trees and power lines across the area, leaving thousands without power on Long Island

Strong winds are already causing havoc across the region, even though the most powerful gusts have yet to arrive in the Long Island region, according to the National Weather Service.

PSEG Long Island is reporting 743 active outages affecting more than 15,000 customers as to 4 p.m. The utility is estimating longer than usual restoration times — generally from midday to mid-afternoon Tuesday because the winds make it too hazardous for crews to repair downed lines. With the storm system affecting the whole East Coast region, PSEG Long Island said it cannot expect the usual mutual aid response from neighboring utility companies.

Wind gusts were forecast to reach 65 mph this afternoon, but as of 3 p.m. the National Weather Service had already recorded a 76 mph gust at Islip MacArthur airport. NWS forecasters said the strongest winds are likely to arrive on Long Island from about 5 to 6 p.m. Peak gusts of 60 to 80 mph are expected, according to forecasts.

Several trees have come down in Riverhead Town, where 185 PSEG-LI customers were without power as of 4 p.m., according to the utilities outage map. Large trees down on Park road and Youngs Avenue have taken power lines down with them, according to Riverehad Highway Superintendent George Woodson.

“We’re waiting on PSEG crews before we can deal with them,” Woodson said. Other downed trees — one on Youngs Avenue and one on Fresh Pond Avenue — are being cleared by highway department crews, he said.

Areas to the west of the island, New York City and west of the city will see the strongest winds, along with thunderstorms. Areas west of the city are under a tornado watch this afternoon.