Deadly storm shatters NYC rainfall records. Central Park sees highest total in more than 100 years

New York City is recovering from extensive flooding after Thursday’s storm soaked the city with record rainfall.

Central Park saw its highest rainfall total in more than 100 years, while LaGuardia and Newark airports also topped their previous records.

The powerful storm was blamed for at least two deaths in Brooklyn and Upper Manhattan after two men were found in flooded basements. 

The heavy rain flooded roadways, while gusty winds took down trees around the area. The city’s three major airports were impacted, along with subways and NJ Transit. 

Friday is another First Alert Weather Day, with the area under a wind advisory from 10 a.m. to midnight. Peak gusts could reach up to 45-50 mph. 

How does NYC deal with flash flooding?

Ahead of the storm, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection issues a Flash Flood Plan to alert New Yorkers. 

“We all know that climate change has brought us these crazy rain storms that our infrastructure was never designed to deal with. The four most intense storms in New York City’s history have taken place in the last four years,” explained DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwall. “Yesterday, what caused all the flooding is the fact that we had 1 inch of rain in 10 minutes.”

That’s about 6 inches per hour, when the city’s sewer system is designed for 1.75 inches per hour. Aggarwall said the department received more than 800 calls in just two hours about flooding alone. 

He also said crews work to clear the city’s 150,000 catch basins ahead of each storm, but the rain still can sweep leaves into clean grates.

“Particularly in one neighborhood in Brooklyn, the catch basins were clear, they were working properly. The rain flows in, it brings all of the leaves, covers over the catch basins, and all of a sudden, you’ve got a flooding situation,” he said. “When our crews, along with [NYPD] and Sanitation arrived, in some of those catch basins, there was a foot of wet leaves that they had to scrape out in order to get the water to go down the drain.”

NYC sees record setting rain

The rainfall proved to be record setting for several locations, including Central Park, where the 1.83″ total broke the daily record of 1.64″ from back in 1917.

LaGuardia Airport saw 2.09″, shattering the previous record of 1.18″ in 1955, and Newark Airport saw 2.04″, beating its record of 1.57″ also in 1955. 

Other records were set is Islip on Long Island, at 2.60″, and in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at 2.44″.

Highest rainfall totals around Tri-State Area

Other parts of the area saw even higher totals, with more than 3 inches falling in places. 

Greenwich, Connecticut reported 3.90″, Wanaque, New Jersey reported 3.64″ and Bay Shore, New York reported 3″.

Meanwhile, peak wind gusts reached up to 57 mph in Sea Bright along the Jersey Shore, and 53 mph at John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

Bridgeport also gusts over 50 mph, along with Farmingdale on Long Island.

Halloween & NYC Marathon forecast

As for Halloween, although it may be dry, the winds will come roaring back by the late morning hours. Gusts will range from 35-50 mph, and the threat of downed trees and power lines will be in place once again. Temperatures will reach the mid 50s for highs, however, by Trick Or Treating time, the strong gusts will have real feels in the 30-45 degree range.

Thankfully, things quiet down considerably for the marathon runners this weekend, with brighter skies and highs near normal.

Stick with our First Alert Weather team for the latest forecast, live radar and weather alerts.