Wednesday, Aug 13, 2014 • Updated at 8:27 AM EDT
Record-setting rains doused the tri-state area overnight, causing flash flooding and power outages, downing trees, forcing evacuations in one storm-stricken New Jersey town and turning at least one New York highway into a river that swallowed abandoned cars, many with their hazard lights still blinking.
The National Weather Service described flooding across parts of Suffolk County as a "dangerous and life-threatening" situation, and flash flood warnings were in effect there through the morning as the powerful rain system moved out of the region.
In Islip, more than 5 inches of rain fell in one hour Wednesday morning. The town has seen more than 13 inches so far, smashing the previous record for daily rainfall of 6.7 inches set on Aug. 24, 1990.
The Long Island Rail Road says the rough weather is impacting its Wednesday morning rush. It was reporting system-wide delays of up to 30 minutes and customers were advised to expect lingering delays throughout the morning. Westbound service was suspended on the Far Rockaway Branch between Far Rockaway and Valley Stream due to flooding.
The system drenched the entire region, with the Jersey shore, Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau and Suffolk counties seeing the largest rain totals.
