New York: Torrential Rain Cancels Trains and Flights, Strands Drivers

Part of Penn Station was closed.

Unusually heavy downpours in the course of just a few hours on Friday in the New York metropolitan area caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations, shut down roads, stranded motorists, and flooded part of Penn Station,

The region received between 2” to 3” of rain, wreaking havoc with transit systems and flooding highways. Central Park reported 3” in that period, double the previous recorded for the day recorded in 1871 and representing almost two-thirds of the typical total rainfall for the month of May.

Some 2,000 flights were delayed or cancelled at the area’s three airports, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International as a result of the severe weather.

Flooding resulted in the closure of two tracks and the main entrance to Penn Station, the cancellation of multiple trains, and caused delays in the city’s subway system.

In areas ranging from Long Island to Staten Island to New Jersey to downtown Manhattan, roads became impassable and transit systems inaccessible.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)