Photo: Getty Images North America
Flights were grounded and service on multiple NYC subway lines was suspended Friday due to heavy rain moving through the Tri-State area.
The Friday storms were the wettest calendar day on record since 1948, per the National Weather Service, with 7.88 inches of rain falling at JFK Airport.
State of Emergency orders have been issues by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"Brooklyn is the epicenter of the storm. This is a dangerous life-threatening storm, [with the] capacity to sweep vehicles off the roads and people could be drowned in their own vehicles," said Hochul.
More than 6 inches of rain has fallen in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities warned of power outages early Friday afternoon, though fewer than 700 businesses were without power as of 4 p.m.
State and local officials urged people to stay at home, rather than test the roads or public transit. Most of the subway service suspensions were in Brooklyn, due to flooding within the subway tunnels.
There were major disruptions to subway and Metro-North Railroad service. LIRR was cross-honoring MetroCard holders west of Jamaica. NJ Transit bus services into and out of NY Port Authority Bus Terminal was subject to 15-minute delays.
Nearly 4 inches of rain had fallen at JFK Airport in Queens as of 8 a.m. Friday.
Up to 3 inches more rain was expected to hit the ground by Friday evening in most areas, with a Flood Watch in effect through late Friday night. A travel advisory was in effect through Saturday morning.
So far this month, over 14 inches of rain has fallen in Central Park, making this the wettest September on record.
The heavy precipitation was due to a combination of an upper level trough and a feed of moisture off the Atlantic ocean.
Tune in to 710 WOR for more updates on your AM radio dial or via your iHeartRadio app.