A potent autumn storm slammed the New York metropolitan area on Thursday, October 30th. The streets of The City that never sleeps’ s became inundated, blocking transit and tearing through power lines .
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash-flood warning for much of the city through the afternoon as rainfall rates soared above 2 inches (5 cm) per hour in certain areas. Wind gusts hit up to 50 mph (80 km/h), causing major disruptions.
🚨🇺🇸 Meanwhile in Central Park, NYC
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) November 1, 2025
The flooding continues across New York pic.twitter.com/1yeKnKtcd4
In Central Park, 1.80 inches (4.57 cm) of rain fell, shattering the prior daily record of 1.64 inches (4.17 cm) set in 1917. At LaGuardia Airport, 1.97 inches (5.00 cm) were recorded, eclipsing the 1955 benchmark of 1.18 inches (3.00 cm). Meanwhile at Newark Liberty International Airport the downpour reached 2.04 inches (5.18 cm), topping its previous high of 1.57 inches (3.99 cm).
In nearby areas the deluge was even greater: Islip (Long Island) logged 2.60 inches (6.60 cm) and Bridgeport (Connecticut) 2.44 inches (6.20 cm), both new daily-rainfall records for their sites.
Roadways quickly turned into rivers as drainage systems failed to hold the massive amounts of rainfall. One major closure: westbound Belt Parkway near 65th Street in Brooklyn; in Queens, the Long Island Expressway shut down temporarily before reopening later in the evening.
Transit agencies were overwhelmed by widespread flooding. The MTA reported that several subway lines experienced delays or were shut down. Service on the G train was suspended between Bedford–Nostrand Avenues and Court Square so crews could remove water from the tracks.
This is not Bangkok
— ꧁✬◦°⋆⋆°◦. 𝒮𝓌ℯℯ𝓉 𝒯ℬ𝒥 ◦°⋆⋆°◦✬꧂ (@beerburp23) November 1, 2025
Flooding in New York City was terrible on Thursday. This video is of Brooklyn. The infrastructure in NYC is old and horribly unqualified to do the job. Much like the likely new mayor, Mamdani. pic.twitter.com/CdupfzR5dT
Trees snapped and power flickered. On Staten Island especially, scattered outages left residents in the dark as branches and debris fell across neighborhoods under wind gusts reaching 50 mph (80 km/h) or more.
The intensity and abruptness of the storm speak to a broader trend: heavier downpours, faster onset of flooding, and greater burdens on urban infrastructure ill-equipped for these extremes. With rainfall rates topping multiple-inches-per-hour and drainage systems failing under the load, cities like New York may face more frequent events of this kind.
As the city begins cleanup work and restores power, the storm serves as a stark reminder: infrastructure resilience and advanced warning systems must evolve alongside the climate.
