National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for northern Broome County and southern Chenango County until 2:45 a.m. Friday.
According to the NWS, a rainstorm dumped about 1 inch of rain in the immediate Binghamton area by 9:30 p.m. Thursday, with localized rainfall amounts of up to 4 inches in parts of northeastern Broome County.
Serious flash flooding as a result of the heavy rains caused the closures of several state, county and town roads Thursday night, according to the Broome County Emergency Services Office.
Storms
Recent heavy rain have been wreaking havoc on summer plans and that has residents keeping an eye on the rising Wolf River, but it's going to take a lot more to wash out some people in Outagamie County.
Tom Dix has had his fair share of close calls.
"We've had all the steps underwater a couple of times actually," Dix said.
Tom Dix has had his fair share of close calls.
"We've had all the steps underwater a couple of times actually," Dix said.
© Vincent DiSalvio / The Journal News
Vehicles were trapped in a municipal parking lot entirely flooded along with Memorial Park in Spring Valley June 23, 2011.
Vehicles were trapped in a municipal parking lot entirely flooded along with Memorial Park in Spring Valley June 23, 2011.
Scattered power outages, mostly in northern Westchester and Putnam counties, caused some schools to send students home early.
With a chance of showers and thunderstorms again today after 10 a.m., the weather service has issued a flash flood watch through tonight for the entire tri-state area. Full forecast for today and the weekend.
Downtown Nyack looked like a small version of the Mississippi Delta, with a river running down Broadway faster than cars and trucks usually travel.
"We've been hit pretty hard," Rockland Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Gordon Wren Jr. said of the downpour that started just before 11:30 a.m. Thursday. "The ground being saturated makes matters worse. We're getting pounded."
The rain that fell so ferociously and the flooding that followed was likely the worst since Hurricane Floyd in 1999, leading Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef to declare a state of emergency.
© Reuters / John Sommers II
People survey the damage to barns at Churchill Downs after an apparent tornado struck the track in Louisville, Kentucky, June 23, 2011.
People survey the damage to barns at Churchill Downs after an apparent tornado struck the track in Louisville, Kentucky, June 23, 2011.
"Considering the damage, which is extensive, it is amazing -- borderline miraculous -- that there were no injuries to either humans or horses," said John Asher, Churchill Downs spokesman.
There was no damage to the grandstand or the track's iconic twin spires.
Churchill Downs is most famous for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby, the first leg in U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown of events, which also includes the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
Asher said crews on Thursday were inspecting the surface of the race track for storm debris, including nails, that might have been tossed onto the usually carefully manicured racing surface from the passing twister.
Six barns and a portion of a seventh were damaged severely enough they cannot be used, Asher said. Two others that had damage from the storm had been restored to service Thursday. As a result, 30 horses would be transported to Lexington where Keeneland raceway had offered temporary shelter.
© Noel Celis/Agence France-Presse
Pedicabs pedal customers down a flooded street after heavy rains in Valenzuela City, north of Manila.
Pedicabs pedal customers down a flooded street after heavy rains in Valenzuela City, north of Manila.
More than 7,000 people fled their homes overnight in the capital Manila alone as the storm added to seasonal monsoon rains, bringing massive flooding to city streets, the civil defence agency said.
The swift evacuation of Manila residents as the waters rose overnight prevented any deaths, said Benito Ramos, executive director of the official National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
"It is a good thing we pre-positioned rubber boats. Thankfully, people reacted well. When we told them to evacuate, they evacuated," Ramos said.
However 11 people were still missing in or near the less-developed Bicol peninsula southeast of Manila, which bore the brunt of Meari as it brushed past the eastern side of the country, the council added.
Sixteen people in northeast India have been killed by landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains, a senior police official said today.
The deaths occurred overnight in villages perched on steep mountain sides near the town of Pelling in the scenic Himalayan state of Sikkim.
"Fourteen people were buried alive when rolling debris piled on their houses," senior police officer Jasbir Singh said by phone from Gangtok, capital city of Sikkim.
Singh said a second landslide in the same town claimed two lives, damaged property and disrupted communications.
Source: Australian Associated Press
The deaths occurred overnight in villages perched on steep mountain sides near the town of Pelling in the scenic Himalayan state of Sikkim.
"Fourteen people were buried alive when rolling debris piled on their houses," senior police officer Jasbir Singh said by phone from Gangtok, capital city of Sikkim.
Singh said a second landslide in the same town claimed two lives, damaged property and disrupted communications.
Source: Australian Associated Press
© David Kidwell/Pocono Record
Come hail or high water: Heavy rain Wednesday afternoon created a deluge on some area roadways, including Broad St. (Route 191) in south Stroudsburg.
Come hail or high water: Heavy rain Wednesday afternoon created a deluge on some area roadways, including Broad St. (Route 191) in south Stroudsburg.
The area caught a small but potent storm cluster that developed over the Pocono Front and moved to the east, just south of Interstate 80, after 4 p.m., said Pocono weather expert Ben Gelber.
The storm brought drenching rains and severe lightning as it moved through. A total of 2.06 inches of rain was recorded in East Stroudsburg, most of it falling within a half-hour period. That brings the June rainfall total there to 4.54 inches inches, Gelber said.
Wednesday's rains created problems on some area roads. A car was reported stalled in water on Lincoln Avenue near the Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Normal Street in the borough was shut down briefly due to ponding.
Some cars were also stalling in high waters on Broad Street (Route 191) in south Stroudsburg and on McConnell Street in downtown Stroudsburg.
A powerful storm system that ripped through the Louisville, Kentucky, area left thousands of people without power and forced the closing of the internationally famous Churchill Downs racetrack on Thursday.
The National Weather Service said damage from the Wednesday night system, which also struck the University of Louisville campus, likely resulted from tornadoes. However, Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Sharp said that cannot be confirmed until a storm survey is completed later Thursday.
A storm survey confirmed that an F-1 tornado touched down in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, east of Louisville, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado uprooted trees and blew debris across short distances, but no injuries or fatalities occurred, according to the survey.
A separate survey was still on-going in the Churchill Downs area, said the Weather Service.
You can't quite set your watch to them just yet, but the summer rains have begun to arrive in a more widespread fashion.
Showers and thunderstorms broke out across more of the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday, packing heavy rain and lightning in several locations. Much of the same is expected this afternoon and for the next few days.
"I would say we are looking at the beginning of the rainy season," said Richard Rude, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
That is good news for an area that has been thirsting for rainfall the last couple of months.
Showers and thunderstorms broke out across more of the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday, packing heavy rain and lightning in several locations. Much of the same is expected this afternoon and for the next few days.
"I would say we are looking at the beginning of the rainy season," said Richard Rude, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
That is good news for an area that has been thirsting for rainfall the last couple of months.
The Platte River at Grand Island was at 6.1 feet Wednesday morning, with flood stage at 6.5 feet, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
According to the National Weather Service in Hastings, at 5.87 feet, water ponds around the Quality Inn at the junction of Interstate 80 and Highway 281; at 6.22 feet, water approaches property at 14570 S. 190th Road; at 7 feet, a few farmsteads may be threatened by overflows, but the city is not threatened by floodwaters; at 7.4 feet, minor flood fighting or sandbagging will occur in Hamilton County.
In light of flooding concerns, the Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management Department has received a number of public inquiries about where sandbags can be purchased, said Wendy Meyer-Jerke, public information officer for the city.
So the department has begun to compile a list of local vendors who can supply sandbags to residents, Meyer-Jerke said.
According to the National Weather Service in Hastings, at 5.87 feet, water ponds around the Quality Inn at the junction of Interstate 80 and Highway 281; at 6.22 feet, water approaches property at 14570 S. 190th Road; at 7 feet, a few farmsteads may be threatened by overflows, but the city is not threatened by floodwaters; at 7.4 feet, minor flood fighting or sandbagging will occur in Hamilton County.
In light of flooding concerns, the Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management Department has received a number of public inquiries about where sandbags can be purchased, said Wendy Meyer-Jerke, public information officer for the city.
So the department has begun to compile a list of local vendors who can supply sandbags to residents, Meyer-Jerke said.
