Storm Blog

George Mickatavage shared this pic of Theodore Fremd Avenue in Rye:

Dave Ruby, of Midland Gardens in Bronxville, wonders if the Bronx River set any records today. He writes: “The river’s stream gauge measuring the depth of the river flow was completely submerged at the Bronxville location on Parkway Road. That’s a first in the last 10 years we’ve lived here.”

The county offers this recap of the current situation:

Mamaroneck: Con Edison has shut off the power for 188 customers in Mamaroneck. Mamaroneck village is setting up a shelter at St Thomas Church, 136 W Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck. Red Cross will be staffing the shelter and hot dinners will be available. Several areas have been affected by flooding, with partial evacuations: Winfield Ave, Urban Ave, James Street, Ellis Place, Chestnut Ave, Villa Ave, 1St Street. 2nd Street, 3rd Street, Howard Ave, Meadow Street, and Hillside Ave.

Bronxville: The county Health Department has been dispatched to the Bronx River Parkway near Paxton Avenue on a report of a damaged oil tank leaking into the flood waters. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has been notified.

Rye: The county’s Health Department has been sent to the Blind Brook to address a fuel spill. There is still significant flooding in the city, but conditions are improving. Numerous homes have been evacuated, using front end loaders and boats where necessary.

Port Chester: Port Chester is experiencing some flooding, but no major issues to report at this time.

Rye Brook: Rye Brook has evacuated 10 houses without power.

From Laura Incalcaterra:

The National Weather Service has cancelled the flood warning issued for Rockland.
However, additional runoff from this morning’s heavy rains will continue to cause minor flooding through this afternoon and evening, the agency said.

The Mahwah River in Suffern remains just above its flood stage of 4 feet. The river is expected to decline and return within its banks by 5 p.m. or so.

Flooding remains a problem along a short stretch of Route 59 by the Palisades Center and travel has been slow at times through the area, Clarkstown police said today.

The right eastbound lane remains shut due to flooding, but the nearby Hackensack River appears to have crested and the water is expected to recede soon, police said.

Nearly all other roadways appear to have reopened.

At 4:15 p.m. North Avenue in New Rochelle was at a near-standstill in both directions, with police officers trying to direct traffic through at least five intersections, Caren Halbfinger reports. She called the traffic “horrific.”

“People should avoid it if they possibly can,” she said.

From Rob Marchant:

Commuters to the Croton-Harmon train station this morning found out that a large section of the parking lot was closed due to concerns about flooding.
About 400 spaces were closed off before the morning rush hour, and motorists were directed to nearby Croton Point Park and Riverside Avenue where shuttle buses ferried them to the station.
“Based on the weather reports, we made the decision to close down portions of the lot that typically flood,� said Village Manager Richard Herbek.
As it turned out, flood waters did not spread into the parking lots very much after all.
“It’s better to be cautionary,� said Herbek.

“We’re looking at a normal rush hour,” MetroNorth railroad spokesman Dan Brucker just told Caren Halbfinger. “We’re actually doing fine.”

Laura Incalcaterra reports:

Flooding remains a problem along a short stretch of Route 59 by the Palisades Center.
Clarkstown police said the right eastbound was still shut due to flooding, but a state Department of Transportation truck has now arrived at the scene and eastbound traffic is being rerouted over the mall overpass.
Nearly all other roadways appear to have reopened following closures due to flooding this morning.
In fact, the sun is now shining brightly across most of Rockland.
But don’t be fooled. A National Weather Service flood warning remains in effect until 4 p.m. and county creeks, streams and rivers are over their banks and not expected to begin receded until later today.

The flash flooding today hit particularly hard because the rain fell so fast and heavy on solid ground, a meteorologist says.

“It’s the end of winter and the ground is hard and doesn’t soak up the rain as well,� said CBS Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli. “And the heaviest rain was in southern Westchester, which is a more urban area with more run-off.�

Amidst all the flooding this morning, emergency responders also had to deal with a car fire on the Hutchinson Parkway. Mike Dougherty, our Knicks writer, got this first-hand report from Knicks coach Isiah Thomas:

Thomas, who lives in Purchase, was driving his daughter, Lauren, to school this morning when he got stopped right behind the car fire.

“I saw the firemen do an unbelievable job,” Thomas said. “There was this car that was on fire, they came up the other side, jumped out, ran across the highway, stopped the traffic. That was the first time I’ve ever seen it that close up, live, where they perform and do their thing. They were extremely impressive. No one got hurt. They got everyone out of the car. They were good.”