A powerful thunderstorm rolled through New York on Wednesday, providing the residents with scary, but spectacular light show as hurricane Arthur is expected to touch down.
The thunderstorm hit the Big Apple at 8:00 pm ET, bringing black clouds and heavy rain with it.
Massive lightning bolts cut apart the skies above Manhattan, with one striking the top of One World Trade Center.
The wild weather quickly attracted amateur and professional photographers, who posted numerous photos of the thunderstorm on the web.
One World Trade Center gets hit by lightning during a storm tonight. #newyork#newyorkcity@nyc@newyork#lightningpic.twitter.com/qGPyBzKudp
— Gary Hershorn (@GaryHershorn) July 3, 2014
After it passed, people flocked to the streets to take pictures of the beautiful sunset, which was colored in orange and purple.
New York City #thunderstorm#sunset. #nycpic.twitter.com/ayNXbiJ9T4
— Jessica Lee (@jessicalee27) July 3, 2014
However, it wasn’t fun for some, as the storm led to a collapse of a section of the facade inside an underpass of the Brooklyn Bridge.
The incident saw five people receiving minor injuries, a fire department spokesman said.
The heavy rain left parts of New York and nearby areas flooded. The flash flood warning will be in effect in the city until noon on Friday.
Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to bring more thunderstorms, heavy rain and winds of over 130 kilometers per hour to much of the America’s Northeast on Friday.
Meteorologists say the weather is likely to improve until late Friday, and won’t hamper the traditional Independence Day fireworks on July 4.
Beautiful to the south, unwelcome #Arthur to the north pic.twitter.com/TJ6c4lS65o
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) July 3, 2014
Hurricane #Arthur heading for the Outer Banks: http://t.co/SNnCtLQYlh@afreedma will be updating throughout the day. pic.twitter.com/LTRdGUB8iy
— Megan Hess (@mhess4) July 3, 2014