Hurricane Debby remnants cause major airport delays as NYC braces for heavy rain, high wind

NEW YORK — New York appeared to have dodged a bullet late Friday when predicted flash floods failed to materialize as the remnants of Hurricane Debby pummeled upstate New York.

The city and the surrounding area remained under a high wind advisory as of 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the National Weather Service warned of possible gales and high surf along Long Island’s south shore.

A tornado watch remained in effect north and west of the City.

But earlier predictions of up to two inches of rainfall per hour — a rate that could have overwhelmed the city’s storm sewer system and led to flooding in low-lying areas and subway tunnels — failed to happen.

Still, the city approached the storm Friday with caution.

A travel advisory issued by the city’s Office of Emergency Management warned of the potential for “localized instances of flash flooding,” and advised New Yorkers to limit travel as the post-tropical depression arrived.

“Do not drive your vehicle or walk into areas where water covers the roadway as the water depth may be too great to allow you to cross safely,” the alert read.

Mayor Eric Adams planned to be out with city emergency management teams in the run-up to the storm, he said on WABC.

“I’ll be in the streets looking at some of the locations with the team,” he said. “We’re going to keep New Yorkers impressed.”

Adams warned New Yorkers that water levels could rise quickly once rain began.

“It’s best to be home and remember the ground is soaked due to the previous rainfalls that we received, so it brings a greater level of danger,” he said on CBS News.

“And just try not to walk under those large trees,” he added. “It’s about taking the necessary safety steps.”

Despite the near miss, delays continued to mount at major New York-area airports.

Dozens of arriving and departing flights were canceled or delayed at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports by 6 p.m., flight tracker FlightAware reported. Nearly 110 flights from LaGuardia were canceled while more than 260 were delayed, the site said.

JFK and Newark were experiencing delays for nearly a third of departing and arriving flights, with at least 87 flights out of Newark canceled, FlightAware said.

New Yorkers were expecting dangerous road conditions Friday evening as Debby — now classified as a post-tropical depression — makes its way north.

Wind advisories were expected to remain in effect until 11 p.m. Friday, with high surf warnings expected through noon Saturday.

Wind gusts could reach up to 60 mph in the city and Long Island, weather officials said. The MTA on Friday said tandem trucks and empty tractor-trailers would be banned from the agency’s bridges as of 3 p.m. in anticipation of high winds, a ban that is expected to run through Saturday morning.

In the city, the MTA had mobilized portable pump units this week in anticipation of the storm and checked the system’s 286 stationary pumps to make sure they were up to the task of clearing any stormwater.

“My teams, we’ve inspected known flood locations to make sure that the track drains are clear, there’s no debris, make sure that the pumps are operating,” said Armando Crespo, NYC Transit’s head of infrastructure.

“We checked our emergency equipment to make sure that it’s working properly, the pump trains are at the yards to make sure that they’re manned and ready,” Crespo added.

He said his teams had also started covering sidewalk vents in known flood locations.

Subway travel in Brooklyn was briefly halted when a tree fell onto the N train tracks near the Eighth Ave.Station in Sunset Park, but it was not immediately clear whether the tree was downed by the storm.

NYC Transit crews had the tracks cleared as of 12:03 p.m.