It’s been a year of unusual extremes for New Yorkers.

Greenwood Lake, New York (CNN) — John Towsen and his wife, Riley Kellogg, watched in horror last Sunday as the flames in nearby trees inched closer and closer to their home of nearly five years.

Across the street, she pointed to a home she says was destroyed by a microburst – a punch of sinking air in a severe thunderstorm that could cause damage similar to a tornado – during a severe ...