Flash flooding hit New York City and New Jersey declared a state of emergency as storms soaked the Northeast on Monday night.
A flood warning was in effect for all five boroughs of New York City as New Yorkers filmed subway stations filling up with water.
Local news footage and clips shared online by New Yorkers showed cars stranded in deep water in Westchester County, torrents of water flowing down New York City subway station stairs, and water pouring onto subway platforms.
New York City officials urged residents to take precautions as thunderstorms through the afternoon produced heavy rain.
“If you live in a basement apartment or low-lying area, be ready to move to higher ground,” New York City 311 wrote in an X post Monday night.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency due to flash flooding and “high levels of rainfall” in parts of the state.
“Please stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. Stay safe, New Jersey,” Murphy wrote on X Monday night.
At least six East Coast airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, were forced to ground flights over the storms Monday, causing severe delays and throwing travelers' plans into chaos.
New York City's JFK and LaGuardia airports, along with New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, were all under ground stop orders at one point on Monday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Philadelphia International, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside D.C. also had flights grounded.
By 8.30 p.m. local time, some of those ground stops had ended, but the FAA still reported delays of between 45 minutes and three hours.
The National Weather Service forecasted at around 4 p.m. Eastern Time one to two inches of widespread rainfall in parts of New York, including Queens, where JFK and LaGuardia airports are located.
Its New York City office wrote on X shortly after 10 p.m. ET, “The heaviest rainfall has shifted east and weakened. This rain is expected to continue to move east and lessen in intensity through the night. “
The service said in an update shortly before 10 p.m. ET some New Jersey locations, including Newark, will experience flooding.
One passenger whose plane is bound for JFK airport wrote on X shortly before 9 p.m. ET, “We have been circling just outside New York for last 90 minutes.”
“Can’t land due to weather related airport congestion. Pilot just told us that have 1 hour of fuel left for circling, before we land somewhere else at a nearby airport,” the passenger said.
Another angry traveler wrote on X at around 8.20 p.m. ET: “I've been sitting at Newark airport for over 4 hours now.”
New York City officials urged residents to take precautions against heat and further floods expected Tuesday due to "hot and humid conditions" expected to "approach or exceed" 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
