Event Summary

A strong and slow-moving coastal storm produced widespread heavy rain and strong gusty winds throughout southeast New York from Wednesday March 21st through Thursday March 22nd. A tight pressure gradient between the intensifying low pressure system off the mid-Atlantic coast and a strong high pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes produced wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph from Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday morning. These strong wind gusts caused several buildings in Manhattan to lose scaffolding and broke some windows. On Long Island and other portions of southeast New York, strong winds combined with nearly saturated ground from heavy rainfall, caused trees to fall onto power lines, and resulted in scattered power outages. In addition to the strong gusty winds, heavy rainfall also occurred during this storm. Across the lower Hudson Valley, one to two inches of rain were common. Two to three inches of rain were common with this storm across New York City and Long Island, with some localized amounts reaching 4 inches. This triggered urban flooding in several areas, and created hazardous driving conditions for the Wednesday evening commute and the Thursday morning commute across the New York City metropolitan area. Here are some storm total rainfall amounts: For New York County (Manhattan): 2.31 inches at Central Park. For Queens County: 1.91 inches at La Guardia Airport, to 2.25 inches at John F. Kennedy International Airport. For Kings County (Brooklyn): 4.16 inches at Gravesend. For Richmond County (Staten Island): 3 inches at Annadale.