Strong storms tore through the Tri-State area on Thursday, unleashing flash floods that crippled transportation in New York City and triggered a tornado warning in New Jersey.
The same system caused deadly flooding in Maryland, where a 13-year-old boy died after being swept into a storm drain.
Officials said the boy had been playing with other children in the rain in Mount Airy, a town of about 10,000 people located approximately 48 kilometres west of Baltimore, when floodwaters surged through a common area between apartment buildings.
According to Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company spokesperson Doug Alexander, the child was pulled into a pipe by the force of the water.
Bystanders attempted a rescue, but the pressure was too strong. He was later recovered after the rain slowed, but it was too late.
In New York City, flash flooding briefly shut down sections of major roadways just ahead of the evening rush hour.
The Long Island Rail Road suspended service on one of its busiest lines as floodwaters overtook tracks.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it suspended traffic in both directions on the Port Washington Branch due to flooding east of Flushing Main Street.
Although the waters later receded and traffic resumed, city officials continued to urge residents to stay home, with rain expected to continue through the night.
Brooklyn’s Prospect Park recorded 2.49 inches of rain, while Bayside in Queens saw 6.35 inches. Delays spilled into Friday morning as crews worked to repair the damage, the MTA said.
In response to the worsening conditions, emergency management agencies in New York and New Jersey advised against non-essential travel and warned of flooding in streets, basements and transit systems.
Some workers were sent home early Thursday afternoon. Both states declared emergencies as the storms arrived.
Elsewhere on the East Coast, Amtrak trains between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, were temporarily halted Thursday evening due to high water over the tracks. Service resumed a few hours later as the water began to recede.
Power outages persisted into Friday morning, with nearly 5,000 customers affected in New York, 3,800 in Virginia, and 2,500 each in Maryland and Pennsylvania, according to PowerOutage.us.
Flight disruptions were relatively limited, with a few dozen delays or cancellations reported at major airports in New York, Boston and Washington, according to FlightAware.
The National Weather Service warned of more storms potentially bringing flash and urban flooding to the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England through Friday night.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged residents in basement apartments to move to higher ground and reinforced calls to avoid unnecessary travel.