Tornado hits New Jersey as Ida pour on US Northeast

The remnants of Hurricane Ida barrelled into the New York City region Wednesday evening with furious, wind-driven rain that flooded subway lines, splintered homes in New Jersey, raised a tornado warning for the Bronx, and delayed the U.S. Open in Queens when the rain came into the roofed stadium sideways.

The National Weather Service said it had recorded rainfall rates of at least 3 to 5 inches in an hour across northeast New Jersey and parts of New York City, which was under a flash flood emergency for the first time. At Newark Airport, 3.24 inches of rain were recorded between 8 and 9 p.m. Eastern time, the Weather Service said. Between 8:51 and 9:51 p.m., Central Park recorded 3.15 inches of rain.

Heavy rains delayed some train lines in Manhattan as crews worked to drain water, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. Around 9 p.m., the Weather Service issued a tornado warning for parts of the Bronx, after a radar indicated a tornado had formed in the area.

At times, strong wind gusts blew the rain sideways, enough to temporarily delay a U.S. Open match at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night, as rain made its way into the stadium despite its roof.

The storm system, advancing on a path to southern New England, brought drenching rain that could lead to life-threatening flooding, meteorologists said.

As the stormy weather moved northeast Wednesday, it prompted a string of tornado warnings across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, including a warning for Philadelphia after the National Weather Service said a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado had been observed south of the city, near Gloucester City, New Jersey.

“You are in a life-threatening situation,” the service said in a statement. “Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter.”

Images and video circulating on social media Wednesday showed homes that had been damaged as well as felled trees in the Harrison Township area in Gloucester County. The Harrison Township Police Department was not immediately available for comment Wednesday night.

The Weather Service also shared a video of a large tornado moving over the Burlington-Bristol Bridge, which connects Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Wenonah, another small borough in Gloucester County, in southern New Jersey, was heavily flooded and “suffered extensive damage following this evening’s tornado event,” the mayor, John R. Dominy, wrote on Facebook. He urged residents to 911 for emergencies and to stay home or in a safe place.

“Do not venture out. Many trees are unstable. Third, please do not approach downed wires as many may be live,” he wrote. “With nightfall, it is difficult to see and dangerous to either walk or drive. Many of our streets are impassable.”

He said the authorities were assessing the damage and, “We do not have an estimate of when power will be restored.”

The storm had caused 57,519 power outages statewide and “these numbers are climbing,” Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said on Twitter.

Residents in Lambertville, New Jersey, roughly 40 miles north of Philadelphia, posted photos that showed streets inundated with brown water, cars submerged up to their tires and flooded basements.

Some parts of the Northeast faced dual threats as several flash flood warnings were issued throughout the night. A flash flood emergency was issued for northeastern Chester County, northwestern Delaware County, and Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania.

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the Weather Service said for those counties. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.

The Weather Service said it had received reports of rainfall totals 4.5 to 7 inches, with more rainfall expected.

Other parts of New Jersey as well as Connecticut and New York, including New York City, were under a tornado watch until 1 a.m. Thursday, meaning conditions were favourable for tornado development. A few tornadoes were possible as well as isolated wind gusts of up to 70 mph, the Weather Service said on Twitter.

The storm, which hit Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Earlier in the day, after a tornado watch was issued Wednesday for southeastern Pennsylvania, most of New Jersey, Delaware and eastern Maryland, meteorologists with the Weather Service in Baltimore confirmed that a tornado had touched down near Annapolis, Maryland. They said they had not been able to measure its speed or assess the damage.

Mitchelle Stephenson, a spokesperson for the city of Annapolis, said that the tornado had left about 2,500 residents without power, and that the city had received reports of fallen trees. The fire and police departments had closed streets to assess the damage, according to Stephenson, who said that no injuries had been reported as of 3:30 p.m.

Video on social media showed strong, fast winds and roadways obstructed by downed utility poles, signs and trees.

The Weather Service in Baltimore warned that high winds could cause damage to houses and mobile homes, and asked residents in the southeastern part of the state to take cover in a basement or on the lowest available floor of a sturdy building.

The governors of Virginia and West Virginia declared states of emergency Tuesday night before the system’s arrival.

Widespread river flooding could occur in southern Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, particularly in the Monongahela, Potomac, Susquehanna, Delaware and lower Hudson River basins, forecasters said.

In central Pennsylvania, Wilmore Dam was “overtopping” with approximately 3 feet of rainwater, said John Banghoss, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in State College, Pennsylvania. More rain water could lead to dam damage, Banghoss said.

Describing the situation as “life-threatening,” the Weather Service instructed the 42,000 residents in the area of central Pennsylvania that includes Johnstown, Ferndale and Dale, to “move immediately to higher ground.”

The last storm to hit the Northeast was Henri, which made landfall in southwestern Rhode Island on Aug. 22 as a tropical storm, sending lashing bands of rain across much of New England. Henri knocked out power in most of coastal Rhode Island, forced evacuations in Connecticut, stranded dozens of motorists in New Jersey and shattered rainfall records in New York City.

At its peak, Henri left more than 140,000 households without power from New Jersey to Maine, and in New York City, cars were left stranded in flooded streets. And Henri had followed Elsa, which in early July brought relentless rain and flash flooding to much of the Northeast, downed power lines and forced would-be subway riders to navigate waist-deep waters on their way into one Upper Manhattan station.

The morning commute Thursday could be affected by drainage flooding in much of New England and the mid-Atlantic, particularly in metropolitan areas, meteorologists said.

“Obviously, it’s been so wet,” said Dominic Ramunni, a weather service meteorologist based on Long Island.

“I can tell you it was the second-wettest summer on record for Central Park,” he said, adding that the amount of rain in the forecast, “on top of how wet it’s been, is going to cause issues.”

In light of the flash flood watch, New York City Emergency Management issued a travel advisory for Wednesday into Thursday morning.

At a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York urged city residents to watch out for deceptively deep bodies of water that could appear to be shallow.

“We’ll get through this one, too,” de Blasio said. “Let’s get this storm by us.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York ordered state agencies to prepare emergency response plans and told residents to exercise caution. Hochul also warned of the possibility of a tornado in the downstate area. More than 5,000 utility workers across the state have been prepared for damage and restoration responses, she said.

The storm will move farther into New England on Thursday.

“Ida is basically going to be exiting New England by Thursday night,” said Dan Thompson, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. “But it’s going to drop heavy rain before it leaves.”

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