Powerful Storms Continue To Come And Go Throughout Tri-State Area
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Heavy rain and thunderstorms were pounding the Tri-State Area on Thursday night and were expected to continue into Friday morning.
Heavy rains made a mess of the roads, caused airport delays and earlier prompted a flash flood warning for the five boroughs of New York City.
As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, the George Washington Bridge was socked with a serious downpour at around 6:45 p.m. The clouds were about as grey as the bridge itself, Diamond reported.
A second storm line extending from southwest to northeast, stretched from Staten Island, across Elizabeth and Newark, N.J., and then into Manhattan. The heavy storm line also traveled up the Palisades Parkway into Yonkers, White Plains and over beyond Waterbury, Conn., WCBS 880 chief meteorologist Craig Allen reported around 7 p.m.
AccuWeather meteorologist Dave Bowers on 1010 WINS said the wet weather is forecast to stick around through at least Saturday night because the system is moving slowly.
The National Weather Service issued various flash flood warnings throughout the region, staggered to end between 10:45 p.m. and the early morning hours on Friday.
CHECK: Forecast & Alerts | Live Radar | Traffic & Transit | Airport Delays
Watches & Warnings:
Flash Flood Warning in CT: Northern New Haven , Southern New Haven
Flash Flood Warning in CT: Northern Fairfield , Southern Fairfield
Flood Warning, Flash Flood Warning in CT: Northern Litchfield , Southern Litchfield
Flash Flood Watch in CT: Northern Litchfield , Southern Litchfield
Flash Flood Warning in NJ: Eastern Bergen , Eastern Essex , Eastern Passaic , Hudson , Western Bergen , Western Essex , Western Passaic
Areal Flood Warning in NJ: Morris
Areal Flood Advisory in NJ: Eastern Bergen , Eastern Passaic , Western Bergen , Western Passaic
Flash Flood Warning : Eastern Dutchess , Northern Westchester , Southern Westchester , Western Dutchess
Areal Flood Advisory : Orange , Rockland
Coastal Hazard Statement : Southeast Suffolk , Southern Nassau , Southwest Suffolk
Flash Flood Watch : Eastern Columbia , Eastern Dutchess , Eastern Ulster , Western Dutchess , Western Ulster
In Nyack in Rockland County, there was a brief respite around 5 p.m. following the wicked rain earlier in the day, but the heavy rains were expected to return, CBS 2's John Slattery reported.
In downtown Nyack, floodwaters were running so high they were halfway up the wheels of cars.
The flash flooding had storm sewers surging up and basements being pumped along Main Street.
"We had a lady trapped in here in a car earlier, we got her out," Nyack Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Vince Reid told Slattery.
The historic old river town was swimming in water. The old Odd Fellows Hall on the corner of Main Street and Franklin Street had its basement filled with water.
"Maybe 8 feet of water in the building," volunteer firefighter Mitchell O'Brien told Slattery.
The owner of the cigar shop across the street watched the action as fire crews responded to the flooding.
"He's knocked out. They just cut out his electrical power because his panel probably got wet and that's a no-no, as you know," cigar store merchant Joseph Montana told Slattery.
Nyack Hospital also experienced some flooding, despite sandbag efforts to keep the rain water out of a sloping driveway. Sandbags could be seen in front of various stores, Slattery reported.
And on Interstate 287 coming into town, rain at times was so heavy that motorists reduced their speeds from 65 to 45 mph, Slattery reported.
The temps were expected to drop into the low 60s Thursday night.
In Westchester County, the Saw Mill River Parkway was closed down between Hawthorne and Thornwood due to flooding, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.
Drivers trying to use the Saw Mill ran into detours that forced them onto local roads, several hours after a frustrating afternoon rush hour.
"It's been hours and there's no police out here to direct the traffic. It's just absurd," said diverted driver Rick Black.
The police were absent because they were contending with backed up storm sewers in the surrounding communities.
As frustrations rose one New Jersey driver tried to bypass emergency cones in Pleasantville in a mad dash to get home.
"I thought I would get lucky, I've been in the car for so long," Lucy Edwards explained.
Parts of the Taconic Parkway were also closed due to flooding, Young reported.
Downtown Chappaqua experienced widespread flooding and the storm drains could not handle the huge amounts of rain.
Survey crews told CBS 2 that they expect the water to rise as downpours continue.
Saturday will be windy and chilly with plenty of clouds and periods of rain and a high of 57 degrees.
Some rain is possible during the morning Sunday, but otherwise it will be breezy with some clouds that may break for some sun later in the day.
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