Watch: Heavy rains, flash flooding wreak havoc across New Jersey and New York
Rain fell at rates as high 5 inches per hour flooding communities across the New York Tri-State area.
Watch: Sinkhole swallows van in New York following drenching rain
A sinkhole swallowed a van in the Bronx following a drenching rain across the state on Monday.
NEW YORK – Cars were submerged in floodwater in northern New Jersey and New York City subway stations turned into impromptu waterfalls after heavy rain drenched the area Monday.
In the Bronx, heavy rains triggered a large sinkhole that eventually claimed two vehicles parked in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Broadway under feet of water
Heavy rains left Broadway in Fair Lawn, New Jersey under feet of water which flooded cars.
Doppler Radar estimated rainfall rates between 3-5 inches per hour as thunderstorms moved through just before 3 p.m.
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Some areas across Northern New Jersey saw rain falling at a rate of five inches per hour Monday afternoon.
(FOX Weather)
In New York City, pedestrians sloshed through streets in Washington Heights. The NWS reported that Central Park received 1.85 inches of rain, setting a new rainfall record for the day, and breaking the old record of 1.76 inches set in 2012.
Ponding on the tracks and downed tree limbs caused major delays and temporary closures of train and subway stations in New York.
Rain inside the subway station
A rider caught waterfalls and floods in a New York subway station.
Flooding rains also closed down major roads across New York City area and Bergen County, New Jersey.
Flooding blocked all lanes of I-87 in New York.
"Hackensack, Lodi, Teaneck areas in New Jersey were stuck under these downpours at these rates for roughly 30 minutes," said FOX Weather Meteorologist Marissa Lautenbacher. "So, estimating that would be approximately 2 inches of rain in that short amount of time causing the flash flooding."
At New Jersey's second largest mall, heavy rain turned the parking lot of Garden State Plaza into a lake.
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Image 1 of 2Floodwaters quickly overtook cars in the parking lot of Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. (@mrrjb128/Twitter)
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Image 2 of 2Drivers need to wait for tow trucks to salvage their cars in Paramus, New Jersey. (@mrrjb128/Twitter)
Calls came in to 911 quickly about cars stuck in the flash flooding in Hackensack, New Jersey where some rainfall totals are as high as six inches.
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The police needed heavy-duty vehicles to get through the streets to rescue drivers. Those are vehicles most residents of the suburban, bedroom community of New York City don't normally see.
New Jersey streets flooded from storms
The Hackensack Fire Department shows major flooding in the streets of Hackensack, New Jersey on Monday after storms moved through the area.
Water rescue teams were also called out to rescue drivers in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
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(FOX Weather)
Drivers in Lodi, New Jersey drove through the flooded streets despite "Turn around, don't drown" pleas from law enforcement.
Yonkers, New York motorists were a bit more cautious. Watch all the cars wait for the first driver to make it through the feet of water before proceeding themselves.
The storms exploded ahead of a cold front which will finally move past the New York Tri-State region by Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service issued Flash Flood Warnings for counties across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
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The FAA issued ground stops for Philadelphia, Newark, Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports as the severe storms passed overhead. The NWS clocked a wind gust of 55 mph from the Execution Rock buoy which is tropical storm force. Another gust of 69 mph wind hit the buoy a bit later.
Winds blew to 69 mph near Sands Point, New York.
(FOX Weather)
One Fair Lawn resident snapped a photo of a car he said was floating on a road. The driver and passenger were able to escape safely.
The photographer said this car in Fair Lawn, New Jersey was floating.
(Rocco from Fair Lawn, NJ)
Rain will continue through the overnight before the sun returns Tuesday to start the long drying out process.
(FOX Weather)
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