By The newspaper
07 Aug 2024, 09:47 AM EDT
Severe thunderstorms carrying torrential rains caused flooding, power outages and train and flight delays in New York and New Jersey yesterday, and the emergency continues with more precipitation (80%) today, tomorrow and Friday.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned yesterday of the risk of flooding through Wednesday morning from storms associated with Tropical Cyclone Debby, which has caused at least five deaths in states in the southeastern part of the country in recent days.
There were hundreds of flight delays and cancellations last night at the three major airports in the New York City/NJ area: JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. It is recommended that you check with the airlines before travelling to the terminals.
LIRR and NJ Transit train service has also been affected, and the baseball game between the NY Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels has been suspended. ABC NewsNew Jersey had 9,592 customers without power and New York State had 3,352 as of about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The cold front associated with yesterday’s heavy rainfall has continued moving south of the region, bringing drier conditions and cooler temperatures to our area. However, a chance of a shower cannot be ruled out, especially throughout the morning hours. pic.twitter.com/6Md6i9wVOk
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) August 7, 2024
In New York City, Henry Hudson Parkway was flooded, where FDNY firefighters had to rescue a driver at West 249th St. The road was temporarily closed at West 232nd St, but later reopened with residual delays.
One of the hardest hit areas was Hackensack, New Jersey, where it is estimated that nearly half of the city was flooded and people were urged not to drive. Firefighters had to carry out multiple rescues.
In the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx (NYC), residents of Clafin Avenue will have difficulty getting around as the street has been blocked by a fallen tree. Fortunately, it did not cut any power lines. In addition, flooding has caused the closure of all northbound lanes of the Major Deegan Expressway approaching West 234th Street.
On Long Island, police had to rescue two people from a BMW on Cedar Swamp Road in Glen Cove, where the water was too high to pass safely. The road was closed until the water receded.
Weather updates can be found here and on the National Weather Service (NWS-NY) website. More details about the forecast for New York and Jersey counties can be found here and on this page of NBC News Weather.