NYC super soaker
Storm washes out planes, parkways
A daylong spring deluge dumped a record amount of rain on the city Saturday, snarling traffic at all three major airports and causing flooding in some areas.
The coastal storm dropped 3.64 inches in Central Park — the most ever recorded for the date — and between 2 and 3 inches in other parts of the tri-state area before moving off Saturday night.
That was followed by high winds, with gusts up to 50 mph throughout the region.
The National Weather Service started the day with a wind advisory and a flood watch. High water was reported in the Rockaways and several roadways flooded in Central Park, where authorities had to help people escape a submerged car on the 65th Street Transverse.
Parts of Mosholu Parkway in The Bronx also flooded.
Several subway stations were inundated, including the Second Avenue F stop, where straphangers created a makeshift bridge from debris to help them cross over a river of water.
Coney Island’s Luna Park delayed its season opener, including the traditional egg cream christening of the iconic Cyclone roller coaster, until Sunday.
In Newark, NJ, meanwhile, the deluge got so bad that ESU police used a raft to rescue a physician, Mark Pollack, after his car got stuck in floodwaters in the city’s Ironbound section.
It was would-be flyers, however, who felt the biggest impact.
By Saturday afternoon, more than 200 flights were delayed at John F. Kennedy Airport and another 20 were canceled. At LaGuardia, at least 95 flights were delayed and 16 canceled.
Newark Liberty saw 168 delayed flights and 21 cancellations.
Widespread delays are likely to spill over into Sunday and possibly Monday before the system is righted, officials said.
Snow upstate
The weather also forced the cancelation of two late-season St. Patrick’s parades, in the New Jersey towns of Highlands and Keyport.
Albany, meanwhile, was blanketed with snow, with up to 7 inches expected in some areas. Forecasts said parts of Vermont and Maine could get walloped with up to a foot.