The severe storms that paralyzed the metropolitan area on Wednesday claimed the life of a Staten Island woman, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
"A car got stuck in an underpass and another car came long and hit hers," Bloomberg said at a news conference.
The morning rush hour became a quagmire as subways, buses and even cabs were halted by flooding from torrential overnight rains.
The storm flooded rail lines, subways and streets, before giving way to a sunny, humid day. Wind and heavy rain uprooted trees and left businesses struggling with shortages of workers due to transit delays.
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The National Weather Service was investigating whether a tornado touched down in Brooklyn.
Some other injuries, none of them serious, were reported from the storms, said Bloomberg.
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The mayor said buildings were damaged in the Bay Ridge and Sunset Park sections of Brooklyn, including a roof ripped off a church.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said about 300 officers were dispatched in Bay Ridge.
"The subway system was chaotic this morning," Kelly said, adding that police used crowd control tactics to keep order.
"We have been advising customers to avoid the system if possible because there is extensive flooding on the tracks," NYC Transit spokeswoman Marisa Baldel said.
The National Weather Service issued a brief, early-morning tornado warning for parts of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau County on Long Island and southern Somerset County in New Jersey. The thunderstorms also caused flooding in parts of New Jersey.
Most subway lines in the city experienced delays or diversions, and there was no Metro North rail service to Grand Central Station on some lines.
John F. Kennedy International Airport experienced delays of up to 90 minutes, and LaGuardia Airport had hourlong delays, said Alan Hicks, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Flooding on roads leading to LaGuardia affected traffic to the terminals.
Some commuters were understanding.
"It rained hard. It happens," said Tim Shaw, a resident of Tribeca in lower Manhattan. He was one of hundreds of people who descended into the steamy Chambers Street subway station of the 1, 2 and 3 lines, only to re-emerge after being told there were no trains. Also stopped or diverted were the A and C lines, as well as the 4, 5 and 6, and the N, R and W.
It was unclear when normal service would resume.
There was no service on the New Haven and Harlem lines of the Metro North rail service from the city's northern suburbs. The Long Island Rail Road suspended service on its Port Washington line.
Passengers on one Metro North line to Grand Central Station were told they had to get off at a station in the Bronx because service was suspended and walk to a nearby subway station. Some trudged through the drenched streets in their business suits, only to be told at the subway that those trains weren't running either.
The rainstorm also knocked out power to 7,000 Con Edison customers in New York and Westchester County. The hardest hit was Staten Island, where service to more than 4,000 customers was knocked out as trees came down on power lines. There were 2,900 Long Island Power Authority customers without electricity as of 10 a.m.
In Brooklyn, a strong wind knocked over giant trees onto cars parked in the Bay Ridge area. Residents said they were awakened around 6 a.m. by car alarms, thunder and loud winds.
Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki of the National Weather Service said an investigator would be sent to the scene to determine if a tornado was responsible.
The weather-related mess angered some commuters.
Patricia Blanchini, a lawyer trying to get from the Chambers Street subway stop to her office at Broadway and 50th Street, was annoyed that she had not heard announcements on the local news about subway service.
Asked how she would get to work, she said, "I don't know, there are no taxis. I think it might be faster to walk."
Vanessa Santiago, a Brooklyn subway commuter, said she had more than just the weather to worry about: "Now I have to worry about getting into trouble for being late to work."
Other commuters were patient.
"It's nobody's fault. You see how hard the rain was coming down," said Mark Edwards, who was trying to get on a subway in Brooklyn, only to find that his line was flooded. "Of course we're going to have problems this morning."
The weather drama was expected to give way to an afternoon sizzle as the moisture from the rainstorm sent humidity levels up, the National Weather Service said.
The agency issued a heat advisory that warned of temperatures that could climb to 101 degrees because of the muggy weather.
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