Torrential rain caused flooding that closed roads, disrupted subway service and overwhelmed basements in the New York City area as "dangerous and life-threatening" rainfall surged across the concrete expanse on Friday. A month's worth of rain – more than 4 inches – fell over parts of Brooklyn in just three hours. Intense rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were falling across the region, and the National Weather Service warned totals exceeding 8 inches "are increasingly likely" in parts of the tri-state area. The heaviest rainfall began to ease across hard-hit portions of Manhattan and Brooklyn late Friday morning, but another round is expected in the afternoon and could reinvigorate dangerous flooding. "This is a dangerous weather condition and it is not over," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a Friday morning news briefing. "I don't want those gaps in heavy rain to give the appearance that it is over, it is not." New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley Friday morning. In an interview with New York's WNBC-TV she urged residents to stay home because of widespread dangerous travel conditions. "This is a very challenging weather event," Hochul said. "This a life-threatening event. And I need all New Yorkers to heed that warning so we can keep them safe." Floodwater spilling into subways and onto railways caused "major disruptions" to subway service, including on nine train lines in Brooklyn and all three Metro-North train lines. A torrent of water surged into basements in New York City Friday morning, according to New York City emergency management. It also overwhelmed sewers and flooded roads in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Hoboken, New Jersey, forcing road closures and water rescues there, authorities announced. Air travel wasn't fairing any better. Flooding at New York's LaGuardia airport kept ground crews from accessing parts of the airport's ramps. Flight cancellations were minimal as of Friday morning, but delays were growing quickly as authorities closed the airport's smallest terminal — Terminal A. More than 8.5 million people were under flash flood warnings early Friday across portions of New York and New Jersey the region's National Weather Service office said. A widespread 1 to 2 inches of rain had already fallen across the warning area since midnight, with much more to come. Millions of New Yorkers received alerts from the weather service Friday morning warning of a "dangerous and life-threatening situation" with a "considerable" risk of flash flood damage. About 1.19 inches of rain fell at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens over an hour early Friday and as of 10 a.m., the major travel hub had recorded over 4 inches of rainfall since midnight according to the weather service. The flood threat will impact roughly 25 million people across the Northeast Friday, and the New York tri-state area is facing a Level 3 of 4 "moderate" risk for flash flooding, the National Weather Service warned. — CNN
