Severe storms bring flooding across Northeast and leave at least 1 dead in Orange County, New York, as officials warn of dangerous road conditions
Severe storms that have left at least one dead in Orange County, New York, are dumping heavy rainfall at intense rates over parts of the Northeast, forcing road closures, water rescues and urgent warnings about life-threatening flash floods.
Already, floods have inundated roadways in parts of New York, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed state police and swift water rescue teams as the state braces for more road floods and washouts.
A woman died after being swept away in floodwaters in New York’s Orange County, which is among the areas hit hardest by floods, authorities told CNN. Hochul has declared an emergency for the county.
“We are approaching a critical point in this weather event, and New Yorkers must remain vigilant,” Hochul said Sunday night. “Remember: avoid flooded roads, monitor your local forecasts and have an evacuation plan ready if you’re in a danger zone.”
Rainfall in West Point, New York, totaled more than 7.5 inches in six hours Sunday afternoon, according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s a 1-in-1000 year rainfall event for the area, according to a CNN analysis of NOAA’s historical rainfall frequency data.
A once-in-a-millennium rainfall event is one that is so intense, the chances of it happening in any given year is just 0.1%.
Over 25 million people are under flood alerts across the Northeast Monday, including in parts of New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine – as well as across the country in Washington and Alaska.
A moderate risk, level 3 of 4, of excessive rainfall is in place in New England through early Tuesday. Rainfall totals across the area are expected to range from 3 to 5 inches.
Intense rainfall rates are expected to continue in Vermont and northeastern New York on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. New York could see 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour, the NWS warned.
In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott declared a state of emergency as the weather service warned flash flooding could become “extremely dangerous.”
Vermont faces a rare high risk of excessive rainfall, which could push isolated storm totals towards 12 inches when combined with the rainfall that already fell across the area over the weekend. “Significant to potentially catastrophic flash flooding is likely, especially in areas that have recently received heavy rainfall,” Vermont transportation officials tweeted.
Severe storms that have left at least one dead in Orange County, New York, are dumping heavy rainfall at intense rates over parts of the Northeast, forcing road closures, water rescues and urgent warnings about life-threatening flash floods. Already, floods have inundated roadways in parts of New York, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed state police…