NEW YORK — A critical situation unfolded across the northeast U.S. last night as the remnants of Ida produced anywhere from 8-14 inches of rain over a 12-hour period.
Most of that accumulation fell over a 4-hour window. Some of the rainfall rates were 2-3 inches per hour!
At least eight people died from the flooding, according to the Associated Press.
When that amount of rain falls over such heavily populated areas that have so much concrete, there just isn't anywhere for that water to go. Now that the water is starting to recede, they're going to need to monitor their lakes, streams and creeks for new flooding as that water is trying to find its source to go.
New York City had to issue a flash flood emergency, which is the highest alert you can have. They were already saturated from rain thanks to Henri.
They're currently under a flash flood watch, while Hartford, Connecticut is under an active flash flood warning this morning. They'll have to watch for neighborhoods that are downstream from local creeks or streams for overflowing water.
So even though the remnants of Ida are pushing offshore and the rain will start to taper down, they may see new areas of flooding over the next days as the rain that has already fallen tries to mitigate through other streams.