Strong rain storms lashed the East Coast Thursday, delaying flights throughout the region and prompting emergency rescues of motorists trapped in deep water on busy highways from the Philadelphia area to New York City.
In New York, flash flooding briefly closed sections of major roadways and flooded train stations across the metropolitan region just as the evening rush hour approached.
Commuters captured video of water pouring over a train on a platform in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, while commuter rail lines into suburban Long Island and New Jersey were suspended in places as tracks were deluged. Power lines also were impacted.
Amtrak officials announced Thursday evening that trains between Philadelphia and Wilmington were stopped because of severe storms causing high water over the tracks.
“Once a route is available, anticipate residual delays,” company officials posted on X.
Traffic cameras and social media posts on a highway in the New York City borough of Queens showed motorists at one point standing on the roofs of stranded vehicles and a tractor trailer nearly fully submerged. Police said they pulled cars carrying two people from the flooded stretch before the waters receded and traffic slowly resumed.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other local officials pleaded with people to stay off the roads and urged residents in basement apartments to move to higher locations as rain was expected to fall through Friday afternoon.
In Pennsylvania, National Weather Service warnings of up to 3 inches of rain in an hour produced flooding in Reading, a city about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.
Photos and videos online showed parked cars nearly underwater and water pouring down a narrow city street. Other videos from Reading showed emergency vehicles blocking off some streets or underpasses as flood waters had rendered them impassable.
In Maryland, emergency responders rescued multiple people from flooded vehicles in communities northeast of Baltimore.
Officials there also preemptively closed roads prone to flooding, shuttered schools and libraries early and opened emergency shelters as more thunderstorms were expected across Maryland into the evening. Flood watches and warnings were issued across the state.
Airports in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia all reported scores of flight delays and cancellations into Thursday evening.
Tornado warnings in New Jersey came and went with no reports of twisters, though more than 20,000 electricity customers were without power as of Thursday evening.
States of emergency were declared in New Jersey and New York City, where government workers were sent home early.
Forecasters said the strongest storms were expected later Thursday afternoon and night, with heavy to excessive rainfall and potentially severe thunderstorms along the Washington-Philadelphia-New York City corridor.
Flood watches and severe thunderstorm watches remained in effect until late Thursday and Friday, with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain possible in some areas.
The weather service warned flooding was possible in small creeks and streams and urban areas, along with highways, streets, underpasses and places with poor drainage. Some areas could also see high wind gusts and penny-sized hail.
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Marcelo reported from East Meadow, N.Y. Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz in New York; Anthony Izaguirre and Michael Hill in Albany; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, and Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed to this story.
