High winds and rain ripped across Niagara County Monday afternoon, causing fallen trees, taking down power lines and closing roads.
Lower River Road in Lewiston remains closed between Chicora Street and Mohawk Street as National Grid crews worked to clear fallen power lines that were brought down by a tree.
It took most of Monday night to clear the road.
Residents reported seeing a bright blue flash of light as a transformer blew out and throwing sparks onto the road.
“We saw from the front window and side window tree limbs starting to come down,” said Marty Josephs, in town from Philadelphia to visit family. “About two minutes after that, the lights started flickering and they went off, and then they flickered again and went off.”
A portion of the Niagara Scenic Parkway was closed after a tree fell on a vehicle just north of the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. The driver was unharmed and quickly removed from the SUV.
The majority of the power in the area was restored Monday night.