Axios

An extended period of torrential rainfall led to severe flooding across New York City, from New Jersey through all five boroughs and extending northeast into Connecticut.

Threat level: More than eight inches of rain have fallen in the region as of Friday evening, with pictures on social media showing cars flooded up to the tops of their windows, roadways converted to lakes, and water pouring into basement apartments.

Fall just started last week. But in some parts of the country, the first frost is right around the corner.

The big picture: Median first fall frosts can be as early as July and as late as January, according to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.

The Interior Department just unveiled plans to greatly slow the pace of offshore oil and gas lease sales over the next five years compared to historical levels.

Why it matters: Offshore Gulf waters are an important part of U.S. oil production, albeit a smaller share of the total since the onshore shale boom took off.

Canada's wildfire season, already the worst on record, went "completely off the rails" during the past week, scientists tell Axios.

The big picture: Enough land area burned in the past week to make the seven-day-period comparable to nearly an entire typical fire season across Canada, according to Merritt Turetsky of the University of Colorado.