The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued its first-ever flash flood warning for New York City, after Hurricane Ida's remnants dumped torrential rain on Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey, flooding subway lines and streets.
“This particular warning for NYC is the second time we've ever issued a Flash Flood Emergency (It's the first one for NYC),” the service wrote on Twitter during the downpour. The first time we issued a Flash Flood Warning was an hour ago for Northeast New Jersey.
“We're enduring a historic weather event tonight with record-breaking rain across the city, brutal flooding, and dangerous conditions on our roads,” said New York mayor Bill de Blasio soon before midnight on Wednesday.
At about 11:30 p.m., De Blasio announced a state of emergency, claiming that thousands of New Yorkers had lost power.
The National Weather Service recorded 3.15 inches of rain in Central Park in one hour, significantly above the 1.94 inches that dropped in one hour during Tropical Storm Henri on August 22nd, which was thought to be the most ever recorded in the park at the time.
Heavy gusts, soaking rains, and at least one tornado also wreaked havoc on Pennsylvania and New Jersey, destroying the roof of a US Postal Service building and threatening to flood a dam along the way.
In Mullica Hill, a southern New Jersey county just outside Philadelphia, the National Weather Service reported at least one tornado, and social media pictures showed homes reduced to rubble.
Due to heavy flooding, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages Newark Liberty International Airport, tweeted around 10:30 p.m. that all flights had been canceled and all parking lots had been closed. All train service to and from the airport was also halted.
Governor Phil Murphy has issued a state of emergency in all 21 counties of New Jersey, asking residents to avoid the flooded highways.
The Metropolitan Train Authority said that services will be "extremely limited tonight" due to "heavy rainfall and flooding across the region," and "strongly" advised passengers to avoid traveling if at all possible.
