11.   A fierce storm swept across the New York metropolitan region late Sunday, flooding highways and leaving five people injured by lightning in New Jersey.

12.   A severe dry spell has gripped the metropolitan region since the fall.

13.   Across the New York metropolitan region Sunday, the military strikes on Afghanistan stirred relief, cheer, bluster, debate, sadness and anxiety.

14.   Across the New York metropolitan region, developers of market-rate housing for the elderly, faced with increasing competition, are offering incentives and financing options.

15.   According to the National Weather Service, snow has visited the metropolitan region in October on several occasions, and snow is not uncommon in November.

16.   Also Wednesday, West Nile virus was discovered in Boston, the first time the disease was found outside the New York metropolitan region since it surfaced last year.

17.   But around the metropolitan region, the question for many was which retailers, if any, would come forward and replace the six department stores.

18.   But for now, the fate of the two big proposed projects and their impact on deregulated sales in the metropolitan region are uncertain.

19.   But more important than getting through this year, he said, is changing practices so the metropolitan region can handle future, potentially larger, climate shifts comfortably.

20.   But now locals from the metropolitan region are signing up.