JULY 10, 2023
A truck drives through flooding in Little Haiti during a rain storm, Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Miami. A torrential storm bought heavy showers, gusty winds and thunderstorms to South Florida on Wednesday and prompted the closure of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and the suspension of high-speed commuter rail service in the region.(Alie Skowronski/Miami Herald via AP) ORG XMIT: FLMIH402
Monday was another rough day for weather across the nation, as the Northeast saw yet more heavy, flooding rain, and tens of millions of Americans dealt with sweltering, dangerous heat.
Vermont was in the crosshairs of the extreme rainfall and flooding concerns. Rescue teams raced to try to get to towns that had been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state overnight Sunday into Monday.
Driving rain continued to pound much of the Northeast Monday. “Rainfall rates could reach 2 inches per hour in some locations as the system slowly moves,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty said. “Infrastructure in the metro areas may not be able to handle rainfall of this magnitude, and as a result, rising water could quickly inundate some locations.”
The slow-moving storm moved northward Monday morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut on Sunday.
Deadly floodwaters had swept across parts of the Northeast Sunday, where a woman was killed by flooding in New York state. Parts of Pennsylvania were swamped by up to 8 inches of rain. And forecasters warned that residents from North Carolina to New Hampshire could expect heavy rains and potential flooding, with flash flood warnings in parts of New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Following a week of world-record-breaking heat, residents in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida endured oppressive heat Monday. In all, more than 42 million Americans faced heat warnings, watches or advisories.
Woman dead in Hudson Valley, New York
A woman in her 30s was swept away and drowned while trying to evacuate her home in New York’s Hudson Valley on Sunday. Flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed into the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said. Two other people escaped the home in Highlands, about 40 miles north of New York City.
“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said. “She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” he added, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave-type waves.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency Sunday for Orange County. That included the town of Cornwall, near the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, where many roads were flooded and closed off.
‘Catastrophic,’ ‘life-threatening’ flooding possible in Vermont
New York’s Putnam Valley recorded more than 10 inches of rain Sunday. The National Weather Service said part of U.S. Highway 6 near Fort Montgomery, New York, collapsed west of the Palisades Interstate Parkway late Sunday. In Pennsylvania, Chalfont recorded over 8 inches of rain. Several roads were closed and water rescues took place across the region.
According to the National Weather Service, over 10 million Americans were under flood watches or warnings as of Monday. As a consolidating frontal system nearing the northern mid-Atlantic coastline combines with atmospheric moisture, heavy rain is likely to produce the potential for significant flash flooding in the Northeast and New England on Monday.
Residents from New England to the mid-Atlantic states were advised to avoid driving on any flooded roads, as the majority of flash-flood deaths occur in vehicles.
The highest risk of flooding Monday was expected to be in Vermont and the Champlain Valley bordering New York state. The weather service is warning residents of Vermont of “catastrophic flooding” on Monday, adding that “a potentially life-threatening scenario is developing across the region.”
The front is expected to pass by Tuesday when the heaviest of the rain will end.
Scorching heat across southern US
Parts of Texas, Florida, and the Southwest didn’t see relief Monday from sweltering temperatures with many areas under heat warnings and heat advisories. High temperatures in the Southwest and High Plains were forecast to reach up to and above 110 degrees in the afternoon.
The weather service in Las Vegas said Monday that “once it sets in, the excessive heat looks to last through at least next Monday.”
Similarly, high temperatures and oppressive humidity allowed for heat indices to approach 115 degrees throughout parts of South Texas on Monday.
Courtesy/Source: This article originally appeared on USA TODAY / AP
