Record rain soaks New York, causes damage across region
NEW YORK - Heavy rain soaked New York on Saturday, making for a messy, wet start to the weekend as a storm moved through the region.
The storm made Saturday the rainiest March 23 on record in the area, with 3.66 inches falling in Central Park.
New York City
The rain started early Saturday morning, making a mess of roads citywide.
Across the city, vehicles got stuck in water, leaving drivers stranded. The NYPD had to rescue three people near Central Park on Saturday afternoon.
With Mother Nature not cooperating Saturday morning, New York City's largest amusement park, Luna Park in Coney Island, had to postpone its planned opening. Many see it as a fun-filled kickoff to spring and summer, but instead because of Saturday's total washout, the opening was delayed until Sunday, along with Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park next door.
Watch John Dias' report
Saturday night, Fifth Avenue was shut down at East 93rd Street after a giant tree crushed a Volvo and damaged two more cars parked across the street. The owner of the Volvo spoke to police as neighbors looked on in disbelief.
"I've heard and seen trees falling in the park, but not like this. I mean, that is one gigantic tree," neighbor Ruth L. said.
Thankfully, no one was injured.
In the Bronx, a section of the Mosholu Parkway swallowed up an SUV, leaving drivers stuck after their vehicles stalled.
The wet weather also impacted travel at Tri-State Area airports with hundreds of delays and dozens of cancellations at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
The National Weather Service also warns excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers and other flood-prone areas.
Westchester County
On the Bronx River Parkway in Westchester, standing water brought traffic to a crawl.
Heavy rain also overwhelmed sewers and sent several inches of water into the Renaissance, a workforce housing development that's still under construction in New Rochelle. Water soaked the entire first floor, including the community room and several apartments.
In nearby Pelham Manor, fire and utility crews were called to a home for reports of a gas leak only to issue an evacuation order after they found a basement wall partially collapsed.
"We found a heavy gas odor coming from the structure. We contacted Con Ed Gas immediately. Upon further investigation, we found the basement wall was compromised, so we had everybody evacuate prior to going down," Pelham Manor Fire Chief Michael Greco said.
But the fire chief says the situation could have been worse.
"Everybody's concern is water, so that's what we do," Greco said. "We usually see some localized street flooding, some houses do receive water, nothing crazy, but today was-- thankfully, the amount of rain we got was not bad at all."
Meanwhile, Yonkers had to postpone its much-anticipated St. Patrick's Day Parade by two weeks.