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Rainfalls in New York
Photo: David Dee Delgado / Getty Images
For the first time in history, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood warning in New York.
When the foothills of Hurricane »Ida« hit the metropolis on the east coast of the USA, there was heavy flooding.
Subway lines and streets in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey were flooded.
“This particular warning for New York City is the second time we've ever issued a flash flood emergency.
And it's the first for NYC.
The first time we issued a lightning flood emergency in Northeast New Jersey an hour ago, ”the service said on the night.
New York saw the heaviest rain on record.
Within just an hour, around 80 millimeters of rain fell in Central Park in Manhattan late on Wednesday evening, it said.
This means that the storm surpasses the previous record that tropical storm »Henri« set only a few days ago with 49 millimeters for 60 minutes.
Overall, the summer of 2021 in New York is not only very hot and sunny, but also the rainiest in New York history.
Flood warning maps from the NWS show large areas of the US east coast between New York and Boston as flood-prone.
Regions in the states of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire are affected.
At least five flash flood disasters have been recorded by the National Weather Service.
Hurricane Ida meanwhile moves further along the east coast.
It is currently located approximately 230 kilometers east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The National Hurricane Center has since downgraded it to a post-tropical cyclone.
It is currently moving forward in a northeasterly direction at speeds of around 45 kilometers per hour.
On Sunday, "Ida" hit the coast of the southern US state of Louisiana as a hurricane with the second highest level four of five near New Orleans and caused severe damage.
Previously, it swept Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba and had stepped up from Category 1 to Category 4 in less than 24 hours.
"Ida" reached a maximum wind speed of around 240 kilometers per hour.
The highest category 5 is reached from more than 250 km / h.
Hurricane season started with a record
The US environmental agency NOAA had already predicted an above-average storm season for the Atlantic in May, according to the experts it would be the sixth in a row. So far, twelve tropical storms and four hurricanes, two of which are from category three, have formed in this year's Atlantic hurricane season. The very first hurricane, "Elsa," set a record in June. Never since record started had there been five storms this early in the season.
In order for a cyclone to occur, certain conditions must be met: If there is a windless low pressure area above the sea and the water is warmer than 26 degrees Celsius, evaporated water rises and condenses into powerful cloud formations.
They suck up more and more water, creating a negative pressure that drives the storm.
As a result, more and more air flows upwards and is finally swirled around.
The next storm with the potential to become a hurricane after »Ida« is already in sight.
"Larry" is already strong enough to be given a name and is currently cruising across the Atlantic at speeds of 110 km / h.
joe