Drenching Rain Brings Flooding For Parts Of Tri-State Area
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Tri-State Area was soaked by drenching, bone-chilling rain propelled by fierce winds all day and night Friday.
The ground has been saturated, and roads have been left flooded in many areas. And as CBS2's Lonnie Quinn reported, the rain was not expected to let up until Saturday.
The temperature was 38 degrees in New York City as of the 11 p.m. hour, but wind gusts were making it feel like below freezing for much of the day.
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As of 11 p.m., a total of 3.19 inches of rain had fallen on Lakewood, New Jersey; 3.11 inches in Wall, New Jersey; 2.08 inches in Watchung, New Jersey; 2.07 inches in Newark, New Jersey; 1.47 inches at Central Park; and 1.21 inches in Islip.
Wind gusts were topping out at 28 mph in the city, 32 in Babylon, and 33 in the Hamptons.
The whole area was covered with an active weather system as of late Monday afternoon – and it wasn't just rain. To the north in Sullivan and Ulster counties, freezing rain and sleet were falling.
A winter weather advisory has been issued for Sullivan, Ulster and Dutchess counties as well as Pike County, Pennsylvania – with icing a concern for early Saturday morning.
A flood watch was also in effect until 2 a.m. Saturday for much of New Jersey due to the rain, while a coastal flood advisory has been issued for all coastal areas from 10 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday as high tide comes in.
As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, the soaking rain did a number on the ground in Roselle, New Jersey, leaving it saturated so severely that the roots of a tree ripped out in a man's yard. The tree toppled onto the house, which its owner had just bought.
The tree also shattered the back windshield of the homeowner's car, leaving glass pieces all over the driveway, and damaged gutter, front railing, and the power meter at the home.
Homeowner Howard Castillo just closed on the house on Thursday.
"It sounded like a big thunder," Castillo said. "So that's why… I was very – I didn't know what was going on, so I just looked out the window, and then I saw the tree on top of the car. I think it's weather-related. It's probably the floor got saturated and the tree just fell."
Castillo had to take his dog and go elsewhere for the night.
The mayor told CBS2's Layton there was a problem with seven circuits at the Oak Street substation. It was not known if the problem was directly related to weather, but the dark streets did not make it any easier to drive in the rain.
PSE&G said power was gradually coming back on by approximately 11 p.m.
Flooding shut down the westbound lanes of the Belt Parkway at Flatbush Avenue Friday evening, according to the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
The eastbound lanes of Route 22 in Newark were also shut down due to flooding at Hillside Avenue and Frelinghuysen Avenue, according to Newark police.
The rain had been expected to bring flooding to areas with streams and creeks, as well as with poor drainage.
Far to the north, parts of New England were under a winter storm warning and were expecting as much as 6 to 10 inches of snow, CBS Boston reported.
The rainy weather is being driven by a low-pressure system that was hovering over West Virginia in the late afternoon. Until it moves eastward out onto the Atlantic Ocean, a chance of rain will persist, Quinn reported.
Rain will continue early Saturday with a slow clearing throughout the day – and a high of only 45 degrees. The rain is expected to persist until around 3 p.m. Saturday.
The weather was also being blamed for a series of underground manhole explosions that rocked the East Village Friday morning. The three manhole explosions and fires happened on Broadway near East 12th Street around 6:30 a.m., and shattered windows at the famed Strand Bookstore and several other buildings.
A Con Edison spokesman said the explosions were likely caused by rain falling on lots of leftover salt from recent snowstorms that got pushed underground.
