More Than a Foot of Rain at MacArthur as LI Gets Pummeled Overnight

Photo (via Dave Mckenzie): Cars submerged on Boyle Road in Selden Wednesday morning.

Long Island went to bed under a flash flood watch Tuesday night warned of rainfall up to 4 inches in some areas.

By the time Long Island woke up Wednesday, it was immediately clear that estimate was way off. At Long Island MacArthur Airport, more than 13 inches of rain had fallen by 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Roads across the island were swamped, stranding cars in many areas. In Nesconset, firefighters used boats to rescue people trapped in their cars on Nichols Road. More than two feet of water was reported in the parking lot of the Bay Shore train station.

Parts of major highways were closed during the morning’s rush hour due to the flooding. The Long Island Rail Road was also experiencing delays and service suspensions because of the weather.

A flash flood warning issued overnight for the island expired, but a flash flood watch remained in effect until 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Western Suffolk County was hit especially hard by the storm. More than 10 inches of rain was measured in Holbook. Nearly 8 inches fell in Deer Park, Ronkonkoma and Farmingville. In Nassau, Wantagh had the most rainfall (7.84 inches), according to the unofficial measurements, with Merrick just behind at 6.81 inches.

The East End of the island was largely spared from the brunt of the storm, with less than an inch of rain measured in Westhampton at 8 a.m.

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