Heavy rain on Long Island leads to downed trees, flooded roads

Heavy rain and powerful gusts flooded roadways, downed trees, snarled air travel and had officials calling for Long Islanders to stay home Sunday.

While Monday is forecast to be sunny, there's a chance of rain for most of the rest of the upcoming week.

The National Weather Service said that well over four inches of rain had fallen in parts of Suffolk by Sunday afternoon.

Islip reported 4.61 inches of rain, the most in Suffolk, as of about 1 p.m. Sunday. Nassau appeared to fare better. Great Neck reported 1.78 inches of rain, the most in the county.

Weather service meteorologist Matt Wunsch said it’s not unprecedented, but also “it’s not super common,” to have such a large amount of rainfall in such a short period of time, an hour or two.

A Suffolk County police officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries Sunday when his vehicle was struck while attempting to control traffic on a flooded Sunrise Highway in Islip, the police department said. The highway nearby had been shut from flooding. 

Flights arriving at Kennedy Airport were delayed an average of four hours, according to an FAA advisory, with delays at LaGuardia being reported at less than 15 minutes.

Motorists on Sunrise Highway in the area of Heckscher State Park were stranded for more than an hour Sunday morning as floodwaters filled lanes in both directions. The rising waters forced several drivers to abandon their vehicles, some with the assistance of emergency personnel who had responded to the scene.

Traffic had been shut down on Sunrise Highway west of Connetquot State Park to east of Carleton Avenue due to the flooding, police said, with partial reopening continuing in the afternoon.

Traffic cameras at about 11:15 a.m. showed eastbound vehicles driving under the Heckscher State Park overpass in a single lane to clear that portion of Sunrise Highway before traffic stopped again. By noon, stranded motorists were finally moving in the westbound lanes, but eastbound traffic was once again closed. Tow trucks could be seen clearing out stranded vehicles.

Ambulances were also on the scene but information about possible injuries was not immediately available.

Flooding also caused a vehicle to get stuck on Broadway at 42nd Street in Islip, police said. Basement flooding was reported in Central Islip.

In Brookhaven Town, a large tree branch took down wires blocking the roadway on North Country Road in Stony Brook around 9:15 a.m. and additional basement flooding was reported in Miller Place, Suffolk police said. Residents in Rocky Point and Middle Island also reported receiving flash flood warnings on their phones cautioning a "dangerous and life-threatening situation" and urging them to stay off roadways.

In Nassau County, police were dealing with multiple reports of downed trees, including one that fell on a house on 240th St. in Bellerose Terrace about 10:15 a.m. No one was trapped inside or injured, police said. A downed tree also blocked the intersection at Woodbury Road and Winthrop Drive in Woodbury, police said. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, at a Sunday news conference to discuss the storm, compared it to last week's in the Hudson Valley when more than 8 inches of rain fell.

"The storms are continuing to surround us and we are in a very, what I would call, unstable weather situation," Hochul said, adding that Long Islanders should stay off the road.

Weather service meteorologist Jay Engle said flash flooding was a threat Sunday, particularly in more urban parts of Long Island. Long Island had been under a tornado watch until 3 p.m.

Engle said it's the thunderstorms and strong wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour that had the weather service on high alert.

“The primary risk with that would be a brief, isolated tornado or two,” Engle said.

Temperatures on Monday are expected to climb to near 90 with mostly sunny skies.

There's a 40% chance of thunderstorms Tuesday with a high to be near 87 and an evening low of 70.
With Matthew Chayes

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.