Continued rain and widespread flash flooding are expected Monday in New York and into New England, a day after heavy rain flooded homes, stranded vehicles, made roads impassable and caused other damage in the Hudson Valley on Sunday.
At least one person died, the authorities said. State Senator James Skoufis, who represents Orange County, said that the victim was a woman in her 30s, but the circumstances surrounding her death were still unclear.
More rain is expected in the Northeast on Monday. A high probability of excessive rainfall is likely for the area across the Champlain Valley and Northern Vermont, where the most prolonged rainfall duration is likely.
Typically, these rains would be concerning in their own right. But forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said that rainfall across much of central and northern New England has seen 200 to 300 percent of their normal rainfall over the past 14 days. Streams are already running abnormally fast, with some at all-time record flows. So even a little rain would exacerbate the situation.
The Hudson Valley bore the brunt of the storm on Sunday with as much as eight inches of rain recorded in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. West Point, the U.S. Military Academy, was hard hit, and much of the road leading up to it was destroyed, according to people documenting the storm on social media.
Other roads were also impassable, including parts of the heavily traveled Palisades Interstate Parkway, and several bridges collapsed, according to Trooper Steven V. Nevel of the New York State Police.
A New York City-bound Amtrak train was halted as it approached Poughkeepsie on Sunday evening, with an Amtrak employee announcing that there had been a “complete washout of both tracks” south of the city, preventing any travel by train.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York announced a state of emergency on Sunday, and expanded it later to include more areas of the state. “If you’re in an area impacted by tonight’s storms, please stay off the roads and take steps to stay safe,” she said on Twitter.
Flash flood warnings were in effect early Monday morning, including in Rockland County and northern Westchester County, according to the National Weather Service. The service also forecast more heavy rain that could result in “life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.”
County officials, police departments and other agencies were fielding dozens of emergency calls prompted by flooding on Sunday. Trooper Nevel described the search-and-rescue efforts as an “all hands on deck” endeavor.