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By Samantha Kramer, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

August 10, 2012; 8:09 PM

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Heavy rain resulted in flooding in portions of New Haven, Conn. (Photo courtesy of Twitter user @GilSimmons)

Soaking and locally severe storms are striking eastern New York into southern New England and will continue well into Friday evening.

The most widespread concern is flash flooding. However, some of the storms could produce strong winds, damaging hail and isolated thunderstorms. The storms have already hit the Ohio Valley and Virginia with torrential downpours Friday morning.

Read Also: Flash Flooding Risk DC, NYC to Boston, Burlington, Vt.

Eyewitnesses in Suffolk County of Long Island, N.Y., told police they saw a tornado around 2 p.m. EDT. This possible tornado brought trees down on homes and power outages throughout the area. The tornado has been confirmed by authorities. It impacted Great River, Bohemia and Ronkonkoma N.Y., bringing down trees and power lines.

According to eyewitnesses, "Water is halfway up the doors. Vehicles are stopped in the water," reported the Suffolk County police scanner.

For the full story, read about the severe threat in the east. Check back here for more updates as we follow the storms.

LATEST UPDATES

12:50 p.m. EDT: Trees and power lines are down on a house in Westfield, Mass.

2:00 p.m. EDT: Wires are down on Widgen Court off River Road in Suffolk County, N.Y. Trees have crashed into houses and cars along Idle Hour Boulevard, in Oakdale, N.Y. Dozens of trees down in Bohemia, N.Y.

2:51 p.m. EDT: Flooding has pushed traffic down to one lane east-bound on the Southern State Parkway in Suffolk County, N.Y.

3 p.m. EDT: Wading River Manor Road and Long Pond Road in Ridge, N.Y., are closed due to flooding.

3:30 p.m. EDT: Rain rates are at nearly an inch per hour in south-central Connecticut. Several trees are down in Hartford.

3:45 p.m. EDT: Trees are down on houses, with numerous tree limbs down on power lines across New Haven, Conn. Railroad underpasses were closed in New Haven, Conn., due to flooding.

4 p.m. EDT: Lightning struck a Norfolk, Mass., home on Mechanic and Hope Street, injuring one person.

5:07 p.m. EDT: Cars are stuck in flooding on Post Road in Warwick, R.I. Power lines are down in the area. Numerous trees are down in Hartford and Tolland, Conn.

5:35 p.m. EDT: A large tree knocked down wires in Big Spring, Md. Multiple trees were knocked down in Hagerstown, Md.

5:44 p.m. EDT: Trees and wires are down in Hartford, Conn., along roads Rt. 2 and Rt. 83.

6:37 p.m. EDT: A transmission line is down on Mill Street in Plymouth, Mass., causing widespread power outages.

8 p.m. EDT: The storms are weakening as they move farther north into New Hampshire and Maine.