Heavy rainfall may help to ease a drought affecting much of Long Island, but it’s also expected to cause large puddles on roadways, leading to Tuesday evening rush-hour traffic delays, forecasters say.
Moderate to heavy precipitation that began Tuesday morning is expected to continue through Wednesday night, bringing with it fog and strong wind gusts at times—in addition to more water on roadways than some storm-water drains can handle, forecasters said.
“Poor drainage areas will see significant ponding take place which may be exacerbated by leaves clogging the drains,” Upton-based National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists said in a special weather statement.
“Expect travel delays from the ponding on area roads and be careful of hydroplaning,” the statement continued. “The evening rush hour will still see significant travel delays due to the rain and ponding on the roadways.”
The rain is forecast to taper off from west to east around sunset, the agency said. But there is a 100-percent chance that heavy rains will resume after 3 p.m. Wednesday before skies clear up for the rest of the week.
