What to Know
- A powerful line of storms walloped the tri-state on Friday evening, causing flash flooding and forcing drivers to bail out of their cars.
- The ground is already saturated from rain earlier this week, which heightens the potential risk for isolated flash flooding
- The storms moved out overnight, paving the way for a glorious weekend with partly sunny skies and highs in the mid-80s
A nasty line of gusty thunderstorms generated by a strong cold front pushed through the region Friday afternoon, besieging the area with damaging winds, lightning, hail and flooding, according to Storm Team 4.
Much of northeastern New Jersey and parts of New York City were under flash flood warnings for much of the evening as the torrent of rain pushed through the already waterlogged region, choking storm drains and causing waters to overtake roadways.
On Staten Island, residents used shovels to try to clear grates and bring the waters under control. Others turned on water pumps to flush out their flooded basements.
In he Garden State, meanwhile, flash flooding created gridlock on the New Jersey Turnpike and forced drivers to bail out of their stalled out cars.
"We've been living in Edison for 18 years and this is the first time since Sandy that the flooding's been this bad," said one New Jerseyan.
Most advisories, watches and warnings for flooding had expired by late Friday, though Middlesex County, New Jersey, was under a flood warning until 1 a.m. Saturday See weather alerts for your neighborhood here.
Local
Despite a rather bright Friday through early afternoon, conditions rapidly deteriorated as the afternoon hours wore on. A powerful storm cell began pushing through the city as the afternoon rush got underway, and rumbles of thunder could be heard across midtown.
A ground stop was issued at the region's three major airports, and delays and cancellations were beginning to mount at La Guardia, JFK and Newark airports.
The storms also forced Panorama music festival to cancel its first night of performances, despite having a "rain or shine" policy on its website.
With the ground already saturated from previous rain, flash flooding remains a concern in addition to the powerful winds, lightning and hail. Track Friday's weather here.
Most of the shower and storm activity will move out overnight Friday into Saturday, paving the way for a glorious weekend with partly sunny skies and highs in the mid-80s, Storm Team 4 says.
The storms Friday -- which are impacting hundreds of thousands of people from New York City to Washington, D.C., and West Virginia -- follow a week of rough weather for the tri-state area.
Next week looks to start off sunny for a day or two before the chance of rain returns late Tuesday.
