Flash Flood Warning in Effect As Storm Brings Heavy Rain to New York City
A flash-flood warning was in effect for much of New York City on Friday morning, as commuters navigated flooded roadways and subway disruptions.
Heavy rainfall pounded the region around New York City on Friday morning, leading to reports of flash flooding throughout the area and disrupting service on major subway lines.
The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning that covered much of the region — including all of Staten Island, Elizabeth and Jersey City, N.J., western Brooklyn — and was in effect until 10:30 a.m. An additional flood warning was also issued for the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens until 11:30 a.m.
A flood watch, which means that more flooding conditions could develop, was in effect for much of the metro area until Friday night. The Weather Service warned that flash flooding would affect small creeks and streams, as well as highways, streets and underpasses.
Video from morning commuters showed cars driving through flooded roads in parts of Queens and Brooklyn. By the morning, the area around Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, had reported more than 3 inches of rain.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said there was no 2, 3, 4 or 5 train service in Brooklyn because of water on the tracks.
For the rest of the day, a moderate risk of excessive rainfall is forecast for an area stretching from just west of Newark, N.J., to East Hampton, N.Y., and north toward Danbury, Conn.
Nearly three inches of rain had likely fallen in parts of Queens, King and Nassau Counties overnight, and another one to three inches was expected. “Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly,” warned National Weather Service forecasters in New York City.
The culprit is a coastal low-pressure system that is expected to pull moist air off the Atlantic Ocean before moving just south of Long Island into the weekend.
The storm system is also expected to produce minor coastal flooding of up to one and a half feet and also beach erosion, with the New York and New Jersey harbor, Jamaica Bay, western Great South Bay and coastal Westchester and Fairfield Counties the most vulnerable.