Heavy Rains Pound US Northeast, With More Storms on the Way

(Reuters) – Heavy rainstorms poured down on parts of New York State and Pennsylvania Sunday. First responders rescued people trapped in their vehicles on flooded roads. More wet weather is expected for the U.S. Northeast.

U.S. Representative Mike Lawler who represents New York Hudson Valley north of New York City posted on Twitter several videos and photos showing the rushing floodwaters in Stony Point. Stony Point is a small village on the Hudson River, about 40 miles north from Manhattan.

He wrote: "Significant floods in Stony Point, homes and cars were destroyed and many people had to be evacuated."

Pennsylvania also experienced similar flooding. The Weather Channel showed footage of flooded roads in Quakertown located 15 miles south of Allentown. At least one driver was stranded and needed to be rescued.

Bryan Jackson, a National Weather Service meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center said that a weather pattern typical of cooler months was building over the Canadian province Ontario, and it was interfering with the normal summer moisture.

The rains of Sunday were heaviest in central Pennsylvania and southern New York. On Monday, the weather service predicted flash floods in New England that could be catastrophic.

Jackson stated that the prediction center had issued its first high-risk alert, the highest on a scale of four, for the area around Burlington in Vermont on Monday.

Jackson stated that "we expect significant to local catastrophic impacts."

The weather service advised people to move immediately to higher ground if they live in a vulnerable area.

According to Jackson, radar estimates showed that the area around West Point, New York - home of the United States Military Academy - was in a state of flash flood emergency on Sunday. It had already received nine inches (23cm) worth rain.

The New York Times reported that blocked roads in Orange County, New York, home of West Point, prevented emergency teams from reaching isolated individuals. This was based on a report by a county official for emergency management.