A rainbow crosses the Manhattan skyline. (June 17, 2011)

A rainbow crosses the Manhattan skyline. (June 17, 2011) Credit: Ashley Riegle

A thunderstorm roared across Long Island on Friday, flooding roads, knocking out power and delaying motorists heading home in rush-hour traffic.

More than 9,300 customers out of about 1.1 million lost power in the storm, according to the Long Island Power Authority's website.

The Long Island Rail Road reported delays of 30 to 60 minutes east of Jamaica on all branches except Port Washington. Trains on that branch were running on the hour, instead of the usual half hour, said railroad spokesman Stanley Davis.

North Hempstead Town was working to assess the damage, town spokesman Collin Nash said.

"This rainstorm that just passed wreaked havoc," Nash said.

Reports came in across the Island of buildings being struck by lightning and roads being closed as a result of the weather.

The worst of the weather was expected to move out of the area Friday night and be replaced with scattered showers, said Tim Morrin of the National Weather Service.

In Nassau, live wires dangling across the roadway in Bellmore led police to close Merrick Road between Bellmore Avenue and Beverly Road.

In Suffolk, trees were down in Huntington Station and Hauppauge, wires down in Greenlawn and there was flooding in Lindenhurst.

By Saturday, the system was gone. The National Weather Service was calling for mostly sunny skies, and highs in the mid 80s.

On Sunday, Father's Day, the forecast is again for clear skies, and highs in the lower 80s.

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3 men plead guilty to CI murder ... Saks files for bankruptcy ... LI Volunteers: Marine rescue center Credit: Newsday

Updated 28 minutes ago Fatal crash on LIE service road ... 3 men plead guilty to CI murder ... Man charged with stealing cash from cars ... Disappearing hardware stores

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