Stunning Photos and Shocking Video of Second Major Northeast Storm as Thousands Lose Power

Thursday evening much of the New York City and its metropolitan areas were issued severe thunderstorm warnings. As of this morning, more than 30,000 are reported to be without power, and Elmira, N.Y., is suspected to have endured a tornado.

Some are calling this latest severe storm to hit the northeast another derecho, comparing it to the violent storm that rolled through much of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and Pennsylvania earlier in the month and knocking out power for thousands customers for several days during an extreme heat wave.

(Related: 'A Ring of Fire': Just What Were the Deadly Thunderstorms that Tore Through the Northeast?)

This is also the second severe storm to hit New York City within the last week.

(Related: 5 Stunning Photographs From the Super-Concentrated Storm Over NYC)

National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Nicosia said a helicopter was being dispatched to the Elmira area to assess the damage and determine if it was a tornado.

A state of emergency and curfew were in effect until 8 a.m. in the Elmira, with only emergency vehicles allowed on the streets while fallen trees and power lines were being cleared, Miner said. A shelter was set up at the Elmira Free Academy for residents who didn't want to stay in homes without power, she said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared an emergency for surrounding Chemung County to allow the state to mobilize state resources to assist local governments. "This state of emergency declaration will help the state get critical resources to communities that were hit the hardest," Cuomo said.

About 16,000 utility customers in Chemung County were still without power early Friday. After the thunderstorms had moved over the New York City area, about 160 Consolidated Edison customers were still without power.

The Long Island Power Authority reported that 284 customers on Long Island were without power as of 3 a.m. Friday. About 17,000 other utility customers in the state also were without power early Friday.

Related to the power outages, a New York resident caught shocking footage of a transformer explosion from his backyard that occurred as a result of the storm. Watch it here (via Fox News Insider):

The storm that hit Manhattan around 8 p.m. yesterday was reported by CNN iReport producer (via CNN) to have been "intense but short." After the rain cleared, it was reported the "lightning show began."

Here is some footage via CNN from the storm as it began brewing:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to include more video.