What Happened
A severe thunderstorm swept across Suffolk County’s South Fork on the night of Saturday, July 5, 2026, unleashing wind gusts as high as 84 miles per hour, heavy rain, and hail that downed trees, power lines, and debris across multiple communities — leaving tens of thousands of residents without electricity, closing roads, and forcing a partial suspension of Long Island Rail Road service. According to 27east, the storm was at its worst in eastern Suffolk County, with Hampton Bays, Riverhead, and Southampton identified as among the hardest-hit municipalities.
In the immediate aftermath, Southampton Town officials declared a state of emergency Sunday morning to aid in cleanup and recovery efforts, urging “extreme caution” for anyone traveling on town roads due to downed wires, fallen trees and tree limbs, and active cleanup and emergency crews working in roadways. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine subsequently confirmed Sunday afternoon that the local state of emergency — declared on Saturday night — would remain in effect for 30 days, per 27east. Photographs from the scene showed debris along Squiretown Road and Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays, extensive damage throughout Southampton Village, a tree that fell outside East Hampton Middle School, a fallen tree in the parking lot of Southampton High School, and a tree that crushed a car in Hampton Bays during the height of the storm.
As of 8:38 a.m. Sunday, 4,859 customers in Southampton Town had been affected by the outages — representing 9.36 percent of the town’s 51,015 total customers. Within the town, the hamlet of Hampton Bays saw 1,596 customers without power, equal to 22.54 percent of its 7,080 customers, with no estimated restoration time and conditions still being assessed. Flanders was hit even harder on a percentage basis, with 610 of its 1,757 customers — 34.72 percent — losing power, also with no estimated restoration time. In Southampton Village, 744 customers were without power with restoration expected by 11 a.m. Sunday. In Shinnecock Hills, 719 customers were without power, with an estimated restoration of 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Remsenburg-Speonk had fewer than five customers affected, with an estimated restoration of 6 p.m. Sunday. Every other Southampton Town municipality was still listed as “assessing conditions” at that time.
East Hampton Town fared significantly better, with only 56 customers affected as of 8:38 a.m. Sunday — 22 outages in Montauk, 7 in Northwest Harbor, and 26 in Wainscott. By 12:15 p.m. Sunday, PSEG Long Island updated its estimated restoration time for both Southampton and East Hampton towns to Monday, July 6, at 11:59 p.m., having previously listed both as “assessing conditions.” PSEG reported at that update that it had restored power to more than 19,400 customers affected by the thunderstorm since 8 p.m. Saturday. As of 8 a.m. Sunday, the utility had already restored power to more than 17,000 storm-affected customers, while over 36,000 total customers had been impacted when combined with those affected by a prior heat wave since July. By 5:18 p.m. Sunday, according to 27east, PSEG had restored power to more than 23,600 customers affected specifically by the Saturday night storm.
At 2:50 p.m. Sunday, the Long Island Rail Road announced a partial suspension of Montauk Branch service between Speonk and Montauk, as PSEG crews responded to downed power lines across the tracks east of Hampton Bays. The LIRR advised that “customers may want to delay their travel today or consider using the Ronkonkoma Branch,” and no timeline for a return to full service was given at the time of the announcement.
Southampton Town Police reported at 4:05 p.m. Sunday that four roads in the town were partially closed or impacted: Noyac Road from Millstone Road to Deerfield Road in Southampton; Springville Road south of Neptune Avenue in Hampton Bays; Newtown Road in Hampton Bays; and Argonne Road East in the area of Lynn Avenue and Oak Drive in Hampton Bays. “Southampton Town Police officers, along with traffic control officers are present at multiple locations to assist with traffic control,” the department said in a press release. “Town highway units and PSEG employees are also working tirelessly to clear road blockages and restore power in effected areas.” Police also advised the public to avoid live wires and to call 911 to report hazardous roadway blockages.
Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara announced that a brush amnesty would be extended to town residents until Wednesday, July 8, allowing residents to dispose of storm debris at transfer stations as part of cleanup efforts. Residents were also reminded that power outages can be reported to PSEG Long Island by texting “OUT” to 773454.
Location & Road Context
The storm’s damage was spread across a wide swath of Southampton Town and East Hampton Town on Long Island’s South Fork. Key road impacts were concentrated in Hampton Bays, where Squiretown Road, Montauk Highway, Newtown Road, Springville Road, and Argonne Road East all saw debris or closures. Noyac Road between Millstone Road and Deerfield Road in Southampton was also partially closed. The Montauk Branch of the LIRR, which serves communities stretching from Speonk through Hampton Bays and all the way to Montauk, was partially suspended east of Hampton Bays due to downed power lines across the tracks — a disruption that affected one of the South Fork’s primary transit lifelines, especially during the busy summer holiday weekend.
Broader Impact
The timing of the storm — on the night of July 4th weekend — amplified its impact considerably, as the South Fork experiences some of its highest seasonal population levels during the Independence Day holiday. The brush amnesty extended through Wednesday, July 8, offered residents a specific and immediate relief measure for storm debris disposal, while the 30-day state of emergency declaration opened the door to additional state and county resources to accelerate power restoration and road clearing across the affected communities.