Event Summary

As Tropical Storm Bertha moved northeast, passing east of Atlantic City, NJ around 11 am and over Long Island during the afternoon, it produced torrential rain and strong gusty winds.. Torrential rain caused flooding of low lying and poor drainage areas, streams, and rivers across the area. The heaviest rain fell in a band to the northwest of Bertha's track over the Lower Hudson Valley. Serious widespread flooding was reported along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Kings County and along the Long Island Expressway in Nassau County. Here are selected rainfall amounts: For New York City: from 1.40 inches at LaGuardia Airport to 1.76 inches at Central Park. For Nassau County: 1.80 inches was measured at Lynbrook and 1.82 inches at Levittown. For Suffolk County: from 0.76 inches at East Quogue to 1.90 inches at West Islip. The highest wind speeds were along the immediate coast. Wind gusts measured from the local area airports ranged from 30 MPH at Farmingdale Airport to 44 MPH at LaGuardia Airport. The highest wind gusts reported by spotters were in Western Suffolk County, from 49 MPH at West Islip to 74 MPH at Babylon Village. This narrow band of peak wind gusts was validated by the radar wind velocity data.