New York City is on track to break an all-time record for rainfall. Experts say this is the new normal.

Katie Hawkinson
Updated ·2 min read
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New York City is on track to break an all-time record for rainfall. Experts say this is the new normal.

  • New York's JFK Airport recorded more than 4 inches of rain on Friday by 11 a.m.

  • The city is on track to break its record for rainfall, which was set during Hurricane Irene in 2011.

  • Experts say this kind of extreme rainfall might be the new normal for New Yorkers.

New York City got a month's worth of rainfall in just a few hours on Friday, well exceeding the September average of 3.82 inches by mid-morning.

That rain caused streets to flood and transportation systems to collapse. LaGuardia airport closed a terminal and two nearby roads. And New York's subway system reported delays on every train line.

And yet, more rain is still to come.

If predictions hold up, parts of the city are on track to hit an all-time rainfall record, according to a local meteorologist.

"It's ALREADY the 2nd wettest Sep day at JFK (4.62" @ 11AM) It will likely break the record 5.83," Alex Calamia, meteorologist for local outlet News12, wrote on X.

New York City had its wettest day on record in August 2011, surviving 7.72 inches of rainfall from Hurricane Irene. Friday's rainfall could rival that record: Mayor Eric Adams said residents should expect up to eight inches before the end of the day.

Flooding is a growing problem for the city. Climate experts told The New York Times this summer that the city's current infrastructure can't keep up with the rise in extreme weather and flooding, which they attributed to the climate crisis.

"The weather is changing faster than our infrastructure can keep up," Rohit Aggarwala, New York City's chief climate officer, told the Times in July.

Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street Foundation, a Brooklyn nonprofit researching extreme weather, told the Times that New York City residents can expect a lot more of the same as the climate crisis persists.

"It's kind of like we're patching the boat, but it's already filling up with water," he told the outlet.

Read the original article on Insider