Storms Cause Flooding In Parts Of Tri-State

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Parts of New York City and the surrounding area got soaked Wednesday afternoon by powerful storms.

Some pop-up showers may still be on tap for us throughout the evening. Click here to get the latest forecast.

A flash flood warning was put in place for Manhattan and Brooklyn earlier Wednesday, as cars attempted to dodge the deluge.

"One car up on 2nd and 9th was stalled out as a result of probably getting some floodwater in the engine and on the other side vehicles barely getting by," Bob Weir told CBS2's Alice Gainer.

Those working at businesses on 9th Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn said it took 15 minutes to flood, but two and a half hours to recede.

"Buses and trucks flying by through the water made waves 3, 4 feet high came crashing through the sandbags into the store," Dennis Espantman said.

As CBS2's Elise Finch reported, it was a stormy start to the day at the Jersey Shore, and some intersections were still flooded even hours after the heavy rain ended.

"Every ten seconds it was lightning, lightning, lightning. It was raining sideways for a good amount of time. It was pretty intense," Collin Pecci said.

People across Long Beach Island woke up to find streets flooded. One look outside and a lifeguard knew his day wouldn't be starting on time.

"We watch the weather almost religiously. For a day like today we looked at the radar, we saw what was going on and we knew we were going to be off for at least a few hours," Max Jones said.

Vortex radar showed intense thunderstorm cells rolling through south Jersey in the morning. There were hundreds of lightning strikes and nearly two inches of rain in some areas.

The heaviest rain coincided with high tide, so storm water was slow to drain and flash flood warnings were issued for Ocean County.

"The water came up almost to my door. That always happens especially it it's high tide. I've lived here my whole life," Jen Jaime said.

Police diverted traffic around the deepest flood water on Long Beach Boulevard, as pedestrians took off their shoes and crossed the street with bare feet, and bicyclists were forced to push their bikes through a flooded intersection.

It's apparently quite normal post-storm behavior for lifelong residents, but people vacationing on the Island who were hoping for sunshine and great beach weather were quite rattled.

"The lightning was so close to the house, the backyard was flooded, it was quite nerve wracking," Allison Smith said.

Lifeguards were eventually called to work after 2 p.m.

One resident said it wasn't all bad, when the weather gets wet tourists spend more money at local businesses.

All over social media users posted videos and picture after picture from different parts of the Tri-State area.

This was the scene on Jay Street in DUMBO:

Another view at the same corner:

Here's Carroll Street and Fourth Avenue near the Barclays Center:

Here's South Slope in Brooklyn:

Here's a look at Beach Haven, New Jersey:

And in Cedarhurst:

Rushing waters overwhelmed streets in Gowanus as cars and trucks tried to drive through:

If you've got storm photos or videos you'd like to share with us, just post it on our Facebook page. Don't forget to tell us who's in it and where it was taken.