By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
A sustained round of torrential downpours after a week of mostly steady rainfall triggered flash flooding in New York on Friday, disrupting subway service in the most populous US city, inundating basements and turning some streets into small lakes.
A flash flood warning was in effect for New York until 2:30p.m. EDT, with as much as 6 inches (15cm) of rain falling in some locations, including Brooklyn, lower Manhattan and John F.Kennedy International Airport in the borough of Queens, said Zack Taylor of the National Weather Service.
Across the region, another 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8cm) could fall before the system pushed out to sea, and some locations could see even more, said Taylor, a meteorologist with the service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
#BREAKING | People are swimming in the subway in
— Breaking news 24/7 (@aliifil1) September 29, 2023
New York City. #WeatherUpdate #NYC #NewYork #flooding #Brooklyn #Parlslope @SkyAlertStorm pic.twitter.com/h5RBaGcz4e
"This is seriously a life-threatening situation," he said, warning against travel until the rainfall abated later on Friday evening.
The extreme rainfall prompted New York Governor Kathy Hochulto declare a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley, and some National Guard troops were deployed to assist in the response.
Central Park has flooded. Seals moving out
— Shadab Javed (@JShadab1) September 29, 2023
Please follow for more updates. #flashflood #flashflooding #flooding #flood #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #brooklyn #rain #rainstorm #storm #downpour #streetflooding pic.twitter.com/8cnj14UC5e
Flooding caused major disruptions to New York's subway service and the Metro-North commuter rail service, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Agency, which operates both. Some subway lines were suspended entirely, and many stations were closed.
New York Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency for the city.
Video shows construction worker working in Flooded New York City after intense rain #Brooklyn #Queens #Manhattan #NYC #NewYork #NewYorkCity #Floods #Flooding pic.twitter.com/Np4ybSShag
— North X (@__NorthX) September 29, 2023
"This is time for heightened alertness and extreme caution," he said at a morning news conference. "If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now."
Systems producing intense rainfalls such as Friday's have become more common in many parts of the US, including the New York City area.
Global warming has produced more extreme weather patterns in many parts of the world, according to climate scientists.
The rain capped one of New York's wettest Septembers on record, with 13.74 inches (34.9cm) of rain falling during the month as of 11am. on Friday, and more on the way, said Dominic Ramunni, a forecaster with the weather service's office in the city. .
"I don't know if we'll beat the record, but we'll come close," Rammuni said.