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NYC’s Severe Thunderstorm Watch Thursday Brought Flash Flooding, a Tornado Warning Upstate — and It’s Over

By Plainly Now News Desk AI-generated article

A severe thunderstorm watch covering all five New York City boroughs expired Thursday evening after a stretch of heavy rain flooded streets, halted part of the Staten Island Railway and prompted water rescues just across the Hudson in New Jersey. The flash flood warnings were cancelled around 5:40 p.m., but the severe thunderstorm watch remained in effect until 8 p.m. and the citywide Flood Watch was cancelled around 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service office in Upton, New York, issued the watch Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 12:51 p.m. and kept it in effect until 8 p.m. It covered the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, plus surrounding counties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A second watch covered parts of upstate New York, northeast Pennsylvania and the Albany region into the evening — a wider, different alert that did not apply to the city itself.

A severe thunderstorm watch means conditions are favorable for dangerous storms to develop over a broad area — it’s a heads-up to stay alert, not a sign that a storm is bearing down on your specific block. That distinction mattered Thursday, because as the afternoon wore on, the weather service upgraded parts of the city to more urgent alerts.

Key facts

  • Severe thunderstorm watch: covered all five NYC boroughs plus nearby NY, NJ and CT counties, in effect from 12:51 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday
  • Separate watch: covered upstate New York, northeast Pennsylvania and the Albany region — did not apply to the city itself
  • Flash flood warnings: hit all five boroughs, then Brooklyn, Queens and southwestern Nassau County, before being called off around 5:40 p.m.
  • Transit impact: MTA suspended Staten Island Railway service between the Huguenot and Tottenville stations
  • Water rescues: firefighters in Bergen County, New Jersey, responded to multiple calls as roads flooded
  • Tornado warning: covered northwestern Ulster County, about 90 miles north of the city, from 5:59 to 6:14 p.m.
  • Casualties: no injuries or deaths reported, though that reflects an absence of reports, not a confirmed all-clear
  • Status: all of Thursday’s alerts had expired or been cancelled by Friday morning

Timeline of Thursday’s alerts

  • 12:51 p.m. — National Weather Service issues severe thunderstorm watch for NYC’s five boroughs and nearby counties
  • 1:51 p.m. — Flood watch begins for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Nassau County
  • 4:15 p.m. — Flash flood warning issued for all five boroughs
  • 4:52 p.m. — Second flash flood warning issued for Brooklyn, Queens and southwestern Nassau County
  • 5:40 p.m. — Both flash flood warnings called off as heaviest rain moves out of the area
  • 5:59 p.m. — NWS Albany issues a tornado warning for northwestern Ulster County
  • 6:14 p.m. — Tornado warning cancelled
  • 8 p.m. — Severe thunderstorm watch expires

Flash flooding hit before rush hour

At 4:15 p.m., the weather service issued a flash flood warning for all five boroughs, warning that radar showed as much as an inch of rain had already fallen with more coming down at 1 to 2 inches per hour. A second flash flood warning followed at 4:52 p.m. for Brooklyn, Queens and southwestern Nassau County. Both were called off early, around 5:40 p.m., as the heaviest bands of rain moved out of the area. The city had also been under a flood watch since 1:51 p.m., covering the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Nassau County; that, too, was lifted early Thursday evening.

ABC7 New York and CBS News New York both reported rain falling at 1 to 3 inches an hour at points during the storm, with localized rates as high as 3 to 5 inches an hour in the heaviest bands, which ran from the city west into central New Jersey. Those are broadcast estimates, not an official measurement — no official measured rainfall total for the city has been confirmed.

The flooding was enough to shut down part of the transit system: the MTA suspended Staten Island Railway service between the Huguenot and Tottenville stations because of flooding near Richmond Valley. Streets flooded in spots from the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx to Staten Island, and firefighters in Bergen County, New Jersey — around Hasbrouck Heights and Teterboro — responded to multiple water rescue calls as roads there took on water too.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay off flooded roads as the storm moved through, saying city crews were working to clear stormwater and were ready to respond where needed. He also encouraged people in basement apartments to move to higher ground if flooding put them at risk.

A tornado warning, well north of the city

While the city dealt with flooding, the National Weather Service’s Albany office issued a separate tornado warning at 5:59 p.m. for northwestern Ulster County — roughly 90 miles north of New York City and not one of the five boroughs. That warning was cancelled early, around 6:14 p.m. Local news outlets in the Albany area reported “visual confirmation” of a touchdown and described storm damage, including downed trees and power lines, but no official damage survey or tornado rating has been issued for that event.

Where things stand now

As of Friday morning, every one of Thursday’s alerts — the severe thunderstorm watch, both flash flood warnings, the flood watch and the tornado warning — has expired or been cancelled. No injuries or deaths have been reported in the coverage reviewed, from the flooding and water rescues in the city and New Jersey or from the tornado-warned area upstate — though that reflects an absence of reports, not a confirmed all-clear. The National Weather Service’s active alerts list for New York state was clear overnight into Friday. The forecast for Friday, August 28, calls for partly sunny skies, a high near 83 degrees, and only a modest chance of showers or thunderstorms after 2 p.m. — nothing like Thursday’s severe weather.

Thursday’s storm was at least the third notable round of severe weather to hit the New York City area in August 2026, following a storm on August 4 that downed trees and closed beaches, and a separate storm on August 20-21 that briefly halted flights at LaGuardia Airport and brought a reported tornado to the city. Each has been a distinct event, but together they’ve made for an unusually stormy month across the region.

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