© Jonathan Berk
Major cities from Philadelphia to New York City to Boston found themselves flooded on Wednesday evening thanks to a series of thunderstorms that rolled through the Northeast.
In Natick, Massachusetts, a pregnant mother and her
3-year-old son were trapped in their car when the vehicle stalled.
"I saw a few other cars going, so I just thought 'I'm next,' but then it almost felt like a boat as I was floating," the mother, identified as Michelle Lopes
said. "I'm eight months pregnant, so I just thought I would sit and wait."
Elsewhere in Natick, trains were halted by flooding on tracks.
The strongest winds were reported at Boston Logan International Airport, where a microburst with 74-mph gusts wrecked travel plans, and in Winthrop, Massachusetts, where a South Boston yacht club was rocked.
Comment: There has been a sharp rise in deaths by lightning strikes across Bangladesh recently, with at least 126 people killed in May and June.
In March this year an anomalous lightning storm hit Southern California producing more than 1,200 bursts in five minutes. In December 2018 the sky over New York City lit up with mysterious blue light.
Could the base level electric charge in the atmosphere be changing? See also: