Heavy rains are in store this afternoon and evening. Be ready for a tough commute. Travel issues at airports and highway flooding are expected. The New York City Office of Emergency Management has activated its flash flood emergency plan and has issued a travel advisory for all of the city.
Intense rain will sweep through the city during the evening rush. Up to 3 inches are possible. The rain will impact the roads and highways the most. Be sure not to drive or walk on any flooded roadways. You never know how deep they can be. It only takes 6 inches of water to stall a car and 12 inches of water to float most vehicles.
The heaviest rains will happen during the heart of the evening rush from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Rainfall rates of up to 1 inch per hour are possible. The rain isn’t expected to impact most subways, but it will make for slowdowns at the area airports.
Most of the flooding chances today are on the roads. The typical flooding spots include the West Side Highway, Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, Belt Parkway and Bronx River Parkway. Often these highways will partial closures during the worst of the rain. Basements are likely to flood this time around. Usually we see sewers backing up into basements when rainfall rates are 1.75 inches per hour or greater. Rainfall rates with this storm are expected to be an inch or less. Here is a look at flood preparation tips.
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