Violent storms ripped through the Big Apple on Wednesday and dumped as much as four inches of rain in a matter of hours causing dangerous flash flooding that stranded drivers in their vehicles.
A “handful” of people had to be rescued from their cars after rising water trapped them on the Henry Hudson Parkway and Major Deegan Expressway, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management told The Post.
Videos posted on social media showed drivers plowing through significant flooding on some of the city’s major roadways during rush hour.
Another clip showed responders removing drivers and their vehicles after they became trapped in the water on the northbound Major Deegan near the Van Cortlandt Park exit.
As the storm pushed on, the OEM received 136 calls to 311 for abandoned vehicles by 9 p.m. Tuesday night, as well as 68 calls for sewer backups, 55 calls for catch basin complaints and 16 calls for street flooding, the office said.
The FDNY also responded to “numerous” calls throughout the day about the storms’ impact but no injuries were reported, officials said.
While just over an inch of rain was recorded in Central Park, the Bronx’s City Island recorded 4.4 inches and Port Washington in Long Island also saw more than 4 inches of rain, Fox News meteorologist Christopher Tate told The Post.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning in Manhattan and The Bronx until 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night. City officials urged those living in basement apartments to move to higher ground.
One clip posted online showed water pouring down the stairwell inside a building on 228th Street in The Bronx.
The deluge was partially a result of Tropical Storm Debby, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida on Monday, killing at least five people, before it was downgraded to a tropical storm.
“This is a very specific type of rain event that occurs with certain tropical systems called a predecessor rain event where what we’re getting is a combination of two factors,” Tate explained to The Post.
“There is a stationary front that has kind of stalled out loosely draped over the metro and out towards Long Island and that’s given us some summer influence for those [typical] summer showers — but at the same time moisture from Tropical Storm Debbie is being ushered up the coast and is eventually meeting with that stalled boundary,” the meteorologist said.
“So in essence you’ve got moisture coming in from multiple places and it’s compounding, unfortunately, right over the city,” he said.
The inclement weather also wreaked havoc at New York City’s airports where thousands of travelers experienced cancellations and delays.
A third of all departures — 184 flights — were canceled at LaGuardia International Airport. Another 119 flights were delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
At JFK Airport, 137 flights were canceled and 204 were delayed. At Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, 134 flights were canceled and 149 flights delayed.
The tri-state area will likely see more showers beginning Wednesday afternoon before the leftovers of Tropical Storm Debbie whack the region from Thursday into the weekend, Tate said.
