New York's Freaky Friday Of Flooding, By The Numbers

 Dave Siff

Published: September 29, 2023

T​he last Friday in September proved to be one for the record books in the New York metro area, and one that people there probably would just as soon like to forget.

Starting in the middle of the night, i​t rained. And rained. And rained some more. An average September's worth of rain in just a few hours. Streets, subway stations, buses and basement apartments flooded. Drivers were stranded in their cars, some needing rescue. New York's mayor declared a state of emergency and urged the city's eight million residents to shelter in place.

People walk with umbrellas on a flooded street in Williamsburg, New York, on Sept. 29, 2023.

H​ere are some of the record-setting and otherwise eye-popping numbers from the storm, as of Friday evening. Again, consider that in an average September, New York gets 4.3 inches of rain for the entire month:

John F. Kennedy International Airport recorded eight and a half inches of rain, the wettest day on record going back to 1948.

N​early 500 flights to or from Kennedy and LaGuardia airports were canceled. More than 800 others were delayed.

Central Park got nearly six inches of rain, its wettest day since the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded the city two years ago, and the park's sixth-wettest day on record going back to 1869.

Some other top rainfall amounts from the area:

-​9.06 inches in Valley Stream, New York

-7.32 inches in Brooklyn, New York

-5.03 inches near Greenwich, Connecticut

-4.12 inches in Ramsey, New Jersey

-​3.48 inches in Hoboken, New Jersey

T​he late-in-the-month deluge makes September 2023 the fourth-wettest month in New York history, behind August 2011, September 1882 and October 2005.

F​loodwater impacted 150 of the city's 1,400 schools, New York City school chancellor David Banks said. Pumps were sent to at least 15 schools to remove water.

M​ore than 23 million people were under flood advisories in the Northeast.

T​wo professional sports contests were canceled: the New York Mets home game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the preseason NHL matchup between New York rivals the Islanders and Rangers.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.