Flooding rains prompt water rescues across the U.S. Northeast
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Flooded streets in Plainfield in New Jersey, early on Tuesday. Photo: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images
Widespread heavy rainfall along the I-95 corridor in the Mid-Atlantic Monday night prompted flash flood warnings and watches in New York City, the D.C. area and across the region.
The big picture: Heavy rains and flash floods in the Tri-State area and Virginia prompted water rescues, road closures and train and bus delays. Parts of Virginia were under a flash flood emergency and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared an emergency due to flooding rains.
Driving the news: "A moisture-rich Summer-time airmass remains in place ahead of a quasi-stationary frontal boundary draped from the Northeast southwest through the Ohio/Middle Mississippi Valleys and into the southern Plains/Texas," per a National Weather Service forecast discussion.
- The storm system that's impacting central Texas, where rescuers paused their search for victims of the catastrophic Fourth of July flooding, was "continuing to promote widespread daily thunderstorm development with heavy rainfall," according to the NWS.
Situation report: The FAA declared ground stops at multiple Northeast airports due to the inclement weather, including NYC's John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International Airport in N.J. and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C.
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X she was closely monitoring flooding in the Hudson Valley and that road conditions were "serious" in Rockland and Westchester, where several rescues had taken place after at least 5-7" was reported to have fallen in a short time.
- The NYC subway was disrupted. The MTA New York City Transit said on X several train services were suspended in Manhattan while crews addressed "flooding in multiple stations."
- A flash flood emergency was declared in Virginia for the city of Petersburg and southern Colonial Heights after 2-3 inches or more of rain fell in one-two hours hours on Monday night, per the NWS' Wakefield office. Other parts of the state were under a flash flood warning.
Threat level: Flash flood warnings and watches were in effect for parts of New York, N.J., Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania over Monday night.
- In New Mexico, the village of Ruidoso reported on Facebook rapidly rising floodwaters in the Brady Canyon area and the region was under a flash flood warning on Monday night. A state of emergency was declared for the region last week over deadly flooding.
- While the worst of the rainfall in N.Y. abated on Monday night, Florida faces heavy rainfall and a flash flooding threats through Tuesday, per the NWS.
- And there was greater risk of flooding in central and south-central Texas on Monday following a series of thunderstorms, according to the NWS.
Between the lines: Climate change is causing extreme precipitation events to be more intense and frequent, studies show.
Go deeper: Trump defends federal flood response in Texas visit
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
