Rain, then ice belt city
Danger on roads as freezing conditions follow precipitation
A day after multiple streets were flooded and hundreds of flights were delayed as 3.66 inches of rain fell on New York City, freezing conditions created black ice hazards Sunday.
The rainfall marked the third-highest total for a March day in the city’s history, according to AccuWeather. Much of the rain fell in just six hours, a downpour that created hazardous conditions across the city.
At Kennedy Airport, 43% of all incoming flights and 38% of all departing flights were delayed during the storm, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. It was a similar story at LaGuardia, where 36% of flights arrived late and 30% took off behind schedule.
But even as the rain let up overnight, New Yorkers were still dealing with its effects Sunday morning.
“Due to yesterday’s rain and today’s low temperatures, New Yorkers are advised to take caution when driving due to the increased risk of black ice on roadways across the city,” NYC Emergency Management warned on X. At least one car crash, on the Belt Parkway in Queens, was blamed on black ice.
As the rain poured down and then sat on flooded streets, temperatures in the city steadily decreased, dropping below freezing overnight. That meant any wet streets were in danger of becoming ice sheets.
Black ice gets its name because of its transparency on roadways. The ice is so clear that people can only see the black pavement underneath it and believe it is safe. It often occurs when temperatures drop below freezing after a rainstorm.
And New York has become all too familiar with such storms in March.
Following Saturday, 8.24 inches of rain had fallen on the five boroughs during the month, making it the sixth-wettest March on record, according to AccuWeather. The record for rainfall on a single March day in Central Park is 4.25 inches on March 25, 1876.
“If it seems like it’s been raining a lot in New York City and other areas along the Atlantic coast this month — it has indeed,” AccuWeather meteorologist Matt Benz said.
However, New Yorkers were expected to see a slight reprieve from the rain Sunday and Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Highs today will be below normal for late March, low to mid 40s,” forecasters wrote. “Expect plenty of sunshine for the western half of the area.”
But the dry days aren’t expected to last long with showers possible Tuesday night and a chance of rain everywhere in the region Wednesday.