Heavy rains cause flooding in NY and CT; states of emergency declared: VIDEO

The situation as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday — By Peter Katz, Westfair Communications

Governor Kathy Hochul today declared a State of Emergency for the Mid-Hudson region, New York City and Long Island as heavy rain continued to fall in the downstate region. Amounts of from seven to eight inches of rain were reported in some spots, with peak rainfall amounts of three inches per hour causing flash flooding with numerous storm-related travel and transit impacts ongoing as of Friday afternoon.

People were stuck in cars on the Bronx River Parkway. Rescue crews used rafts in downtown Mamaroneck to check for people trapped in buildings by floodwaters. Metro-North was completely shut down for a time this afternoon due to flooding along tracks in the Bronx that are used by trains going into and out of Grand Central.

Terminal A at LaGuardia Airport had to be closed when it flooded and John F. Kennedy International Airport recorded eight inches of rain, the highest total in the airport’s history. Flight delays and a few cancellations were reported at Westchester County Airport.

Heavy rain and flooding also hit parts of Connecticut, with the state’s Department of Transportation reporting delays at first and then suspension of service on the Metro-North New Haven line. Police in Greenwich reported a number of roads closed because of flooding. A washout closed part of the southbound side of the Merritt Parkway for a couple of hours between Exits 38 and 37.

Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Services said it and other state departments would closely monitor the storm, and reported that total rainfall was forecast to generally range from four to six inches southwestern Connecticut and two to four inches across most of the rest of the state.

“Towns are advised to watch for any showers or thunderstorms that become stationary,” the department said. “If storms become stationary or rain over the same towns repeatedly, higher rainfall totals and more significant flooding are possible.”

Westchester County Executive George Latimer declared a State of Emergency for the county.

Latimer said: “I am taking this step to ensure the security, well-being and health of our citizens during this challenging time. The severe storm has created hazardous conditions, and we are committed to providing all necessary assistance to address the threats to public health and safety.”

In Yonkers, Mayor Mike Spano declared a Stage of Emergency due to the rain and flooding.

Throughout the county, numerous local roads were closed and flooding was reported on highways.

“I’m issuing a State of Emergency for New York City and the surrounding counties effective immediately, to help address the ongoing storm and flood response in impacted areas,” Gov. Hochul said. “Our team is in close contact with our city and county partners and are prepared to provide any necessary support to keep New Yorkers safe.”

At Governor Hochul’s direction, the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services activated the State Emergency Operations Center to actively monitor storm conditions in real-time and support local governments’ requests for assistance. The State Office of Fire Prevention and Control has also activated its Fire Operations Center to deploy flood rescue teams to both Nassau County and Westchester County to assist with flood emergency response.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Flood Watch for most of the New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley region. The NWS said Flash Flood Warnings are being issued as conditions change. Coastal Flood Advisories are also in effect.

CNN Wire provided the summary that follows.

Updated: 29 SEP 23 15:12 ET

By Eric Zerkel, Mary Gilbert and Aya Elamroussi, CNN

(CNN) — Torrential rain caused flooding that forced rescues, closed roads, disrupted subway service and overwhelmed basements in the New York City area as “dangerous and life-threatening” rainfall surged across the concrete expanse on Friday.

A month’s worth of rain – more than 4 inches – fell over parts of Brooklyn in just three hours. Intense rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were falling across the region, and the National Weather Service warned totals exceeding 8 inches “are increasingly likely” in parts of the tri-state area.

A widespread 2 to 5 inches had already fallen across the the New York City area since midnight, with much more to come, despite periodic breaks in the heaviest rain.

“This is a dangerous weather condition and it is not over,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a Friday morning news briefing. “I don’t want those gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over, it is not.”

The National Weather Service warned totals over 8 inches “are increasingly likely”
Subway service was suspended on multiple lines in Brooklyn and Metro-North trains
LaGuardia International Airport’s historic marine air terminal flooded and closed as flight delays mounted
Emergency responders rescued people from flooded basements and cars

“This is a very challenging weather event,” Hochul said. “This a life-threatening event. And I need all New Yorkers to heed that warning so we can keep them safe.”

Firefighters performed rescues at six basements in New York City flooded by torrents of water, according to the New York City Fire Department.

The water also found its way into 150 of New York City’s 1,400 schools, which remained open on Friday, New York City school chancellor David Banks said at a news briefing.

One school in Brooklyn evacuated when floodwater caused the school’s boiler to smoke, he said.

“Our kids are safe and we continue to monitor the situation,” Banks said.

Floodwater spilled into subways and onto railways and caused “major disruptions,” including suspensions of service on 10 train lines in Brooklyn and all three Metro-North train lines. Gov. Hochul said the city was deploying additional buses to help fill the gap caused by the train outages.

Floodwater also overwhelmed sewers and flooded roads in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Hoboken, New Jersey, forcing road closures and water rescues there, authorities announced.

Air travelwasn’t fairing any better. Flight delays hit all three New York City area airports Friday. Flooding inside the historic Marine Air Terminal in New York’s LaGuardia airport forced it to close. The terminal is the airport’s smallest and serves Spirit and Frontier airlines.

A travel advisory remains in effect for New York City through 6 a.m. ET Saturday with more flooding expected.

The New York tri-state area is facing a Level 3 of 4 “moderate” risk for flash flooding for the rest of the day Friday, the National Weather Service warned. Millions of New Yorkers received alerts from the weather service Friday morning warning of a “dangerous and life-threatening situation” with a “considerable” risk of flash flood damage.

The flood threat stretched beyond New York City and will impact roughly 25 million people across the Northeast.

Heavy rain will expand north and east and impact a wide swath of southern New England through Friday evening. The heaviest rain in the region will center on Connecticut, where flash flood warnings were already in place on Friday afternoon. Rainfall of 3 to 4 inches slammed the southwestern portion of the state earlier Friday.

One to 3 inches of rain is also possible from central Connecticut to portions of Rhode Island through Friday evening. Parts of Massachusetts, including Boston, could tally up widespread rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches by the time the heaviest rain comes to an end Friday night.

A month’s worth of rain in three hours

The extreme rainfall rates over have produced prolific totals:

In Brooklyn: A month’s worth of rain, up to 4.5 inches, fell in only 3 hours on Friday morning, according to National Weather Service data. This three-hour rainfall total is only expected about once every 100 years in Brooklyn, according to NOAA estimates.
In Manhattan: Nearly 2 inches of rain fell in one hour in Central Park, the second-wettest hour there in 80 years. More than 5 inches of rain have fallen there so far.
In Queens: It’s wettest-day on record at John F. Kennedy International Airport, preliminary data from the National Weather Service shows. More than 7.5 inches of rain has fallen there since midnight.