Heavy Rain Causes Flooding Across Tri-State Area Wednesday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City got what appears to be a record-breaking soaking Wednesday morning.
According to CBS 2, New York City received 2.39 inches of rain in the early-morning drenching. That's almost double what we received for all of April, which brought us just 1.31 inches of rain.
It appears to have broken the previous record for this date, set in 1886, when the Big Apple got 2.33 inches.
Photos: Heavy Rains Cause Flooding Around Tri-State
The National Weather Service was expected to clarify whether the record was officially broken later Wednesday.
The worst of the rain passed through New York City in morning. Scattered showers were expected throughout the rest of the day, with pop-up thunderstorms possible.
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Excessive runoff from the heavy rainfall caused some flooding on highways, streets, underpasses and other low-lying areas.
Umbrellas were up in Astoria, Queens as heavy rain started the day. The deluge meant slow going for drivers on Route 3 in Clifton, N.J. And conditions weren't much better on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Westchester County.
An American Eagle jet from Detroit landed safely at LaGuardia Airport after reporting that it had been struck twice by lightning, the Federal Aviation Administration said. No one was injured.
John Montone of 1010 WINS found himself becoming part of the story when his vehicle got stuck in a flooded street in Jersey City.
"I tried to get out to push the car, and as I'm sure a lot of people have experienced, the water came rushing in on me," Montone said. "I stayed with the car, tried to get a tow, [but] AAA informed me they didn't want their trucks getting stuck in the water."
John Montone Gets Stuck In Flood
In Hoboken, cars that attempted to driver under two separate underpasses near Newark Avenue got stuck. One quick-thinking pedestrian hitched a ride on a big-rig to escape the flooding, CBS 2's Elise Finch reported.
The flagship Apple store at 59th Street and 5th Avenue apparently got partially flooded. Photos from its subterranean level show what appears to be significant water damage to part of the ceiling and a large puddle on the ground.
In Gowanus, Brooklyn, cautious drivers did an about face to avoid the murky water that filled 9th Street between Second Avenue and Smith.
"We got here at about 8 a.m. and where we're standing right now was already a foot under water," Park Slope resident Justin Whitkin told CBS 2's Finch.
The driver of another car declined to speak on camera, but he told Finch he tried to drive through the water, got stuck and had to push his car onto the sidewalk. Water was flooding the engine and coming out of his tailpipe. A passer-by on his way to work said the driver had car trouble and possibly health problems from the water, most of which was overflow from the nearby canal.
"It's coming from the Gowanus Canal, which is notoriously one of the most filthy bodies of water in New York City," Crown Heights resident Jacob Hyman said. "You wouldn't drown in it but you'd catch some diseases from it."
Another round of heavy rain fell early Wednesday afternoon. Only drivers of buses and larger vehicles seemed willing to take their chances plowing through the water-covered streets.
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