New York City has issued a flash flood emergency warning as the city prepares to be dumped with up to seven inches of rain on Friday, in a final blow from Tropical Storm Ophelia.
The rainfall, which has already reached a rate of one to two inches an hour, significantly affected the morning commutes of millions of New Yorkers, with social media users sharing footage of the chaotic scene across the area.
New York’s John F Kennedy airport already recorded over three inches of rain, and Terminal A at LaGuardia has been closed due to weather conditions.
The downpour is expected to continue into Saturday and soak the tri-state area, with the National Weather Service extending a ‘moderate’ flood watch from 2am on Friday through the night.
The area from Central New Jersey to Manhattan, Long Island and into Southern Connecticut and the Hudson Valley are forecast to see the most rainfall. Philadelphia and Boston could also see up to two inches of rain, and Hartford up to three inches or more.
New York City was drenched on Friday as flash flooding hit the roads during rush hour and up to seven inches of rain are forecast. Flooding in Queens is pictured above
NYC has issued a flash flood emergency warning as the city prepares to be dumped with up to seven inches of rain on Friday
Nonstop rain is expected to impact 25million people across the New York tri-state area from 2am Friday through 6am Saturday
While most of the tri-state area is expected to get three to five inches of rainfall, some areas further out from NYC’s five boroughs could get as much as seven. The counties of Nassau, Queens and Kings, which includes Brooklyn, are either experiencing flooding on Friday morning or expected to.
The potential flood threat can be dangerous for cities like New York, considering how Hurricane Ida drowned 11 including a two-year-old boy in their basement apartments in 2021.
During Ida, the city experienced between six and ten inches of rain in 24 hours. Brooklyn resident Steve Kastenbaum posted a picture of the flooding in Flushing Avenue on Brooklyn, calling it ‘worse than Ida.’
The rain is supposed to lighten by Friday evening but will spill into Saturday morning. City officials issued a travel advisory starting at 4am Friday through 6am Saturday, warning potential ‘widespread travel impacts’ during the morning commute.
The MTA said the rain will ‘inevitably’ cause issues in the subway system, and some routes have already been affected.
‘There are no 2/3/4/5 service in Brooklyn. We’ll provide more details shortly while we address water on the tracks in Brooklyn,; the MTA posted on Friday morning.
The potential flood threat can be dangerous, considering how Hurricane Ida drowned 11 including a two-year-old boy in their basement apartments in 2021. Queens pictured above
The MTA said the rain will ‘inevitably’ affect the subway systems, and some routes have already been affected. Brooklyn is pictured
Mayor Eric Adams shared a warning about the severe weather expected in NYC
Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the situation, posting: ‘Brooklyn is seeing some of the heaviest impacts of this rainstorm — all Brooklynites should be extremely careful right now.’
The MTA tried to get ahead of the storm as workers started checking storm drains at the 157th Street subway station on Thursday.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said: ‘No matter what we do, there is going to be water in the subway system … The good news is this system is designed to take water and to pump it out in huge amounts,’
The MTA will monitor conditions and make repairs as needed throughout the storm after activating its 24-hour situation room.
Lieber added in a statement: ‘This is a serious storm, and we’re taking it seriously.’
Even a mere inch of rain could lead to flooding in certain areas of NYC and nearby regions that still remain saturated from last weekend’s storm.
The rainfall, which has already reached a rate of one to two inches an hour, significantly affected the morning commutes of millions of New Yorkers
The downpours are occurring due to the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia with converging winds located just to the north
The MTA tried o get ahead of the storm as workers started checking storm drains at the 157th Street subway station on Thursday
The downpours are caused by the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia, experts said
The downpours are occurring due to the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia with converging winds located just to the north, Fox Weather meteorologist Greg Diamond told The Post.
New Yorkers were warned to prepare to seek higher ground on Sunday as post-tropical cyclone Ophelia continued to hammer the East Coast with wet weather.
Ophelia was a tropical storm at near-hurricane strength when it crashed down near Emerald Isle in North Carolina on September 24.
It knocked out power and flooded coastal streets. States of emergency were declared last week in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.
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