A New York City subway flooded, brown water overflowed a New Jersey street and partially submerged vehicles, and the East Coast saw rainfall that broke several records on Monday.
The rainfall was part of a series of storms that set off flash flood warnings from Virginia to Pennsylvania.
Video taken in New York City showed a subway platform filling with water as passengers looked on.
The city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended service on several lines. Delays did not persist into Tuesday morning as the MTA said there were no weather-related effects on buses, the subway, or ferries. More than 2.6 inches of rain fell in Central Park, breaking a record set in 1908.
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the flooding and said the city must “upgrade our infrastructure for this new climate reality.”
Commuters from New Jersey are more likely to face travel inconveniences. Several major roads in New Jersey were flooded, and NJ Transit train commuters could face half-hour delays. Water swept across roads and created waves as cars plowed through.
Heavy rain swept across parts of the U.S. Northeast on Monday night, inundating sections of New York and New Jersey with flash flooding that stranded vehicles in roadways, closed subway lines and led to the declaration of a state of emergency. pic.twitter.com/uuMGk4opQN
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 15, 2025
Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) declared a state of emergency due to “flash flooding and high levels of rainfall in parts of the state” and advised residents to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
The rain, lightning, and high winds also affected residents of Baltimore and the Washington, D.C., area.
A video taken in Rosslyn, Virginia, showed a downpour with thunder audible.
McLean and Arlington also saw flash flooding. Baltimore witnessed some of the worst rainfall totals in the region, as an inch of rain fell within 15 minutes at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Monday night. BWI recorded 1.95 inches of rain in total, breaking a record from 1975.
The National Weather Service said numerous roads in the Baltimore area were closed at one point due to flooding. On Monday afternoon, Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) advised residents “to prepare for potential flash flooding, heavy rains, and damaging winds.”
In southern Virginia’s Colonial Heights and Petersburg, the NWS advised residents they were at risk of “catastrophic” flash flooding until Tuesday morning. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) said he was in touch with leaders in Petersburg on Tuesday and thanked first responders “in Petersburg and surrounding communities of Hopewell, Dinwiddie and Colonial Heights for working through the night to keep Virginians safe.”
A weather expert suggested the large and devastating storm set up prime conditions for flooding and high rainfall totals.
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“The concern is one storm will follow another, after another, and multiple rounds over areas that can’t handle that much rain, all falling in a short amount of time,” Joe Wegman, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, told the New York Times.
Additional storms could drench the East Coast on Tuesday as well, though they aren’t expected to be as severe. There were no reports of casualties from the storms.