Extreme rain caused flash floods and left cars swamped after more than two months worth of rain fell in two hours in New York's Long Island suburbs on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
A total of 13.26 inches was measured at the Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, setting a preliminary statewide record for the most rainfall in one area in a 24-hour period, said Christopher Vaccaro, spokesman for the National Weather Service, the AP reported.
Flash flood warnings for Long Island were lifted in the morning but the warnings remained in effect in southeastern Connecticut due to continued rainfall, Vaccaro said, according to the AP.
The last such record of 11.6 inches was set in August 2011 in a Tannersville village during tropical storm Irene, according to the AP.
"Wow, they had more than two months of rainfall in two hours," Vaccaro said, the AP reported. "It's really quite a dangerous situation. Heavy rainfall coupled with the morning commute is a problem."
Parts of major commuter routes including the Long Island Expressway, the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway, the Sunrise Highway and other roadways were closed due to flooding, police said, according to the AP.
A train station parking lot was covered with at least two feet of water and multiple cars had been submerged up to their windows, the AP reported. Fire department boats were being deployed for rescue operations, according to National Weather Service reports.
The downpour also hit parts of states surrounding New York, including southeastern Connecticut, which received about 7 inches of rain by just after 8 a.m., and isolated parts of New Jersey, with about 2.5 inches by morning, according to the AP.
Residents of Millville, New Jersey, were evacuated from a home when it partially collapsed due to flooding, local media reported, the AP reported.
