Elsa drenches N.Y., New England as it races up coast
NEW YORK — Fastmoving storm Elsa lashed New York City and New England with heavy rain and high winds Friday, flooding streets, toppling trees and hindering some rail service.
Maximum sustained winds from the storm were near 50 mph, with higher gusts as it moved over Massachusetts. But the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Elsa was no longer considered a tropical storm.
Elsa remained powerful enough to bring about 3.5 inches of rain to areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island by early afternoon, flooding streets and stranding cars. West of Boston, Framingham police said Route 9 at Route 126 was closed because of high water.
Storm conditions caused morning snags on commuter rail lines across the New York City region.
The downpour caused a rock slide under the main railroad track in West Haven, Conn., forcing trains to switch to a secondary track for a couple of hours. West Haven was also among the coastal cities dealing with significant street flooding.
“We’re waiting on the water to recede,” said Joe Soto, the city’s emergency management director. “The drainage system was just overwhelmed.”
Up to 6 inches of rain was possible in some areas Friday, enough to cause flash flooding.
The strongest winds were expected to stay off the coast of New England. But the storm was expected to bring up to 4 inches of rain along the Maine coast before blowing into the Bay of Fundy and Canada.
Scattered power outages were reported along Elsa’s path Friday.
The system was already blamed for one death in Florida on Wednesday. Also Wednesday, nine people were injured in coastal Camden County, Ga., when a tornado struck a campground for activeduty service members and military retirees. Eight of those hurt had to be taken to hospitals, Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base spokesperson Chris Tucker said.
The EF2 tornado flipped over multiple RVs, throwing one of the overturned vehicles about 200 feet into a lake, the National Weather Service said.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Fla., said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars.
Elsa is the earliest fifthnamed storm on record, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.