Life-threatening flash flood threat shifts into New England as heavy rain swamps parts of Northeast
CNN
By Meteorologists Briana Waxman, Chris Dolce
(CNN) — A serious flash flood threat is shifting into New England as an unusually strong summer storm unleashes torrential rain that has triggered water rescues and widespread travel impacts across the Northeast.
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Several flash flood warnings were in effect early Wednesday morning from Connecticut to Albany, New York, as a band of slow-moving downpours moved across the area.
More than 11 million people are under flood watches Wednesday from eastern New York through western New England. The greatest danger is centered on parts of Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut, where a Level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rain is in place as seen in the graphic below.
Repeated downpours could produce significant and potentially life-threatening flooding. Heavy rain will gradually spread into eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, later Wednesday.
Another 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected across much of southern New England, with locally higher totals. The National Weather Service warned as much as 5 to 7 inches could fall in the Berkshires and Worcester Hills, where the mountainous terrain will help squeeze even more moisture from the atmosphere.
The storm is creeping northeast after soaking parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A widespread 1 to 3 inches of rain fell across northeastern New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley by Tuesday evening. Higher totals were observed in spots, including Stewartsville in western New Jersey, which received 6 inches of rain.
New York City avoided the worst flooding overnight and a flood watch there expired Wednesday morning. Scattered showers remain possible the rest of Wednesday, but threat of significant flooding has ended.
Flooding strands cars, forces rescues
Just after midnight Wednesday, flooding closed two lanes of US 1/9 in both directions near the Pulaski Skyway in Hudson County, New Jersey, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Multiple cars became stranded in floodwater on Staten Island late Tuesday night, according to the New York City Fire Department. Flooded roads, stranded vehicles and water rescues were also reported in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday.
The Rescue Hose & Ladder Co. fire department said it responded to Coalport in central Pennsylvania, where crews rescued three people and two dogs from a residence.
In eastern Pennsylvania, five people, including a child, had to be rescued when floodwater inundated their vehicle on a low-lying road in Reading, CNN affiliate WFMZ reported.
Airports in the region were also struggling to keep up in the heavy rain. Hundreds of flights were canceled at airports in the New York City area Tuesday.
By early Wednesday, nearly 200 flights had been canceled and dozens delayed at LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport combined, according to FlightAware. At Boston Logan International Airport, more than 30 flights were canceled as of early Wednesday and about as many flights delayed.
What’s ahead Wednesday for New England
Intense rain is already underway, with more rounds of rain throughout the day. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are possible through late morning or early afternoon. Widespread rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches are likely.
The National Weather Service warned of a “significant risk for potentially life-threatening flash flooding” in the Berkshires, Worcester Hills and urban or poor drainage areas. Winds interacting with some of the higher terrain there will squeeze out additional moisture, to the tune of a possible 5 to 7 inches.
The storm’s strength on Wednesday, when it slows down and intensifies, will be more on par with a system in colder months of the year — not late July. Storms like this are usually weaker in summer because the jet stream doesn’t add as much punch to intensify them.
At the same time, the system is tapping into souped-up, moisture-rich pipelines of Atlantic and Gulf air. The amount of water vapor in this air mass will reach levels well above average, even by midsummer’s humid standards. As the low-pressure spins, its thunderstorms will refuel over the water and wrap back around as downpours into the Northeast.
Heavy rain will spread east into the Boston area later Wednesday morning and increase in coverage during the afternoon. Torrential rain could linger across central and eastern Massachusetts into Wednesday evening before gradually becoming less intense.
Showers and pockets of heavier rain could persist across southern New England on Thursday. The rain should become lighter and more scattered Friday as the storm slowly weakens.
Flash flooding is one of the deadliest weather hazards and is particularly dangerous in urban settings. Dozens were killed nearly five years ago in the Northeast when Hurricane Ida dumped 7 to 10 inches across a similar corridor as this week’s threat.
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Meteorologists Chris Dolce and Dakota Smith contributed to this report.
