Record amounts of rain swamp New York

Motorists stranded as flooding hits the city

New York Flooding
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New York saw some of the worst of the flooding as record amounts of rain fell across the East Coast of the States [AP]

New York hasn’t seen this much rain before. In the 62 years of records, the most rain that has ever been reported in 24 hours at JFK airport is 16cm (6.3 inches) back in 1983.

However, on Sunday, JFK was swamped with a staggering 19.6mm (7.72inches) rain.

It wasn’t an isolated incident. The other airports in New York also reported severe weather: La Guardia received 148mm of rain and Newark 123mm. Even further down the coast, Philadelphia International Airport reported 122mm.

This is much more than the monthly average for August. In New York the average is 109mm and in Philadelphia it’s 117mm. Such a vast amount of rain received in such a short time-period, will inevitably lead to flooding.

As big as they may seem, all of these rainfall totals are overshadowed by the amount received at Lido Beach in Nassau County. Here, a daunting 27.6cm (10.2 inches) was reported, leading to widespread problems.

Along the Mid-Atlantic coast, as the situation worsened, motorists were stranded and power cuts were reported. Water flooded into basements and garages, and had to be pumped out of the New York subway system.

The severe weather was caused by the same storm system which caused the collapse of an outdoor concert stage at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday.

After hitting the Midwest, the system then headed east, and ground to a halt over the east coast of the USA. The slow-moving rains continued to pound the region for several hours, and were also accompanied by hail, strong winds and lightning and a large drop in temperature. New York had been baking in temperatures of 29C (84F), but in the rain on Sunday, they only managed 22C (72F).

The system will slowly clear the area, but it will take its time. More rain likely throughout much of the day on Monday, but the worst of the flooding rains is thought to be over.

New York hasn’t seen this much rain before. In the 62 years of records, the most rain that has ever been reported in 24 hours at JFK airport is 16cm (6.3 inches) back in 1983.

However, on Sunday, JFK was swamped with a staggering 19.6mm (7.72inches) rain.

It wasn’t an isolated incident. The other airports in New York also reported severe weather: La Guardia 148mm and Newark 123mm. Even further down the coast, Philadelphia International Airport reported 122mm.

This is much more than the monthly average for August. In New York the average is 109mm and in Philadelphia it’s 117mm. Such a vast amount of rain received in such a short time-period, will inevitably lead to flooding.

As big as they may seem, all of these rainfall totals are overshadowed by the amount received at Lido Beach in Nassau County. Here, a daunting 27.6cm (10.2 inches) was reported, leading to widespread problems.

Along the Mid-Atlantic coast, as the situation worsened, motorists were stranded and power cuts were reported. Water flooded into basements and garages, and had to be pumped out of the New York subway system.

The severe weather was caused by the same storm system which caused the collapse of an outdoor concert stage at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday.

After hitting the Midwest, the system then headed east, and ground to a halt over the east coast of the USA. The slow-moving rains continued to pound the region for several hours, and were also accompanied by hail, strong winds and lightning and a large drop in temperature. New York had been baking in temperatures of 29C, but in the rain on Sunday, they only managed 22C.

The system will slowly clear the area, but it will take its time. More rain likely throughout much of the day on Monday, but the worst of the flooding rains is thought to be over.

Source: Al Jazeera