In Northeast, New York, Philly See Record Rainfall. Flooding Traps Cars and Commuters, Causes Chaos at Area Airports

An electronic variable message highway sign warned on Friday of the forthcoming deluge.
The Northeast saw record rainfall and dangerous flooding over the weekend as well as hundreds of flight delays and cancellations.
In New York City, the National Weather Service said it had recorded 3.6” (91 mm) in Central Park. Throughout the New York metropolitan area, which includes Northern New Jersey and Connecticut, drivers became stranded in their vehicles and some commuters were stranded on their trains.
In many cases, drivers required rescues from their vehicles. One man and woman had to be evacuated from their Black Mercedes-Benz by firefighters after the vehicle became submerged underneath an overpass on the westbound 65th Street Central Park Traverse and similar scenes played out throughout the region.
The rain was equally heavy in parts of New Jersey.
The heavy rain caused extremely poor visibility on the George Washington Bridge
More than two dozen towns and cities in the Garden State had recorded over 3“ (76 mm) of rain, while Mannington Township and Lower Alloways Creek Township, both townships in Salem county,  received  4” (102 mm).
In Newark, New Jersey, a man was seen being pulled to safety on a red raft by a member of the Newark Police Emergency Services unit after he was stranded in a flooded area.
Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, received tremendous attention from Zeus and Jupiter. The National Weather Service office in Philadelphia reported that there had been 3.09” (78 mm) of rain at Philadelphia International Airport, both a daily record for March 23 as well as the highest total for any day in March in 150 years of recordkeeping.
The weather occassioned numerous traffic accidents in the region, including this one on the Cross Island Parkway in New York City.
Delaware County rescue workers searched for a missing six-year-old girl who last was seen near the Chester Creek at approximately 8 p.m. local time, hours after the creek had crested past flood stage. The rescue efforts were ended Sunday afternoon and shifted to a recovery. The Chester Creek was one of several waterways to spill their banks Saturday.
The Second Avenue station for the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Second Avenue and Houston Street, was severely flooded and some passengers were unable to exit their trains.
There were 7,875 delays on flights within, into, and out of the United States on Saturday according to data from FlightAware, which tracks such information,, with the vast majority concentrated in the Northeast. In addition, there were 443 flight cancellations.  On Sunday as of 9:30 p.m. EDT, after the deluge but as airports were recovering from flooding, there were 2,000 fewer flight delays although the number of cancellations was almost identical.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)