What Happened
A fierce, sudden storm tore across Long Island on the night of July 4, 2026, toppling trees, snapping utility poles, downing wires, and plunging more than 13,000 customers into darkness — all during a dangerous heat wave — according to Patch. The storm struck with little warning, disrupting fireworks displays and other Independence Day festivities across the region. Eastern Suffolk County absorbed the worst of it, with wind gusts topping 70 mph, accompanied by hail and heavy rain. By Sunday morning, PSEG Long Island confirmed that 13,904 of its approximately 1.2 million customers across Long Island and the Rockaways had lost power.
As of Monday, July 6, at 5:30 a.m., Patch reports that 3,245 customers remained without power, with 1,119 of those concentrated in the Hampton Bays area, according to the PSEG Long Island power outage map. Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore formally declared a state of emergency on Sunday, identifying Hampton Bays, Flanders, Southampton Village, and Shinnecock Hills as among the communities hardest hit by the storm. The declaration underscored the severity of an outage affecting residents who were also contending with the region’s ongoing extreme heat wave.
Southampton Town police reported “multiple road closures throughout the township” on Sunday night as a direct result of the storm damage. The following roads were confirmed partially closed or impacted as of that reporting: Noyack 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 and traffic control officers were deployed to multiple locations to manage traffic flow, while town highway units and PSEG crews worked simultaneously to clear road blockages. The public was advised to avoid live wire conditions and to call 911 to report any hazardous roadway obstructions.
PSEG Long Island issued a public statement Sunday morning offering both reassurance and a status update. “The electrical system has held up well amid the heat wave over the last few days along with the heavy rain and wind gusts from the severe thunderstorms last night across the service area,” officials said, per Patch. The utility noted that Southampton, Hampton Bays, Riverhead, and Port Jefferson Station were among the most severely affected municipalities. A separate PSEG update at 8 a.m. Sunday confirmed that crews had already restored power to more than 17,000 customers affected by the thunderstorms since 8 p.m. Saturday, and more than 36,000 customers impacted by the broader heatwave dating back to July 1.
PSEG Long Island said restoration crews were working 16-hour shifts throughout the extreme heat to address outages as quickly and safely as possible. “PSEG Long Island recognizes that being without power for any length of time is a hardship and appreciates customers’ patience and understanding as crews work to restore electric service,” the utility said in a statement. Customers were directed to report outages through the PSEG Long Island mobile app, by visiting the PSEG website, or by texting OUT to PSEGLI (773454). Downed wires can also be reported to PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour electric service number at 800-490-0075 or by calling 911.
Location & Road Context
The storm damage was concentrated across Southampton Town and surrounding communities in eastern Suffolk County, an area already under stress from an extreme heat wave that began July 1. Hampton Bays and the Flanders corridor are served by a network of two-lane local roads — including Noyack Road, Springville Road, Newtown Road, and Argonne Road East — that are particularly vulnerable to tree and wire falls during high-wind events. These roads serve as critical connectors for residents traveling between Hampton Bays and the broader South Fork road network, making even partial closures significant. Drivers traveling through the Hampton Bays and Southampton areas should anticipate continued disruptions and alternate routing through the early week as cleanup operations continue.
Broader Impact
The timing of this storm — arriving on July 4 amid a multi-day extreme heat wave — compounded the hardship significantly for affected residents. Thousands were left without air conditioning during dangerous temperatures, conditions that can become life-threatening for elderly residents and young children. Southampton Town’s state of emergency declaration gives local authorities expanded powers to direct resources and coordinate interagency response, including town highway crews, PSEG Long Island field teams, and police traffic control. Residents remaining without power in Hampton Bays, Flanders, Southampton Village, and Shinnecock Hills as of Monday morning were urged to seek cooling centers and to continue reporting hazardous wire or tree conditions to 911 rather than attempting to address them independently.