Blinding rain is slamming Union, New Jersey, leaving cars stranded as flash flooding continues across the area. A Level 3 of 4 flash flood risk is in effect for central and northern New Jersey.
THE TAKEAWAY
- New York City started September with rain, disrupting play at the U.S. Open in Queens.
- Central Park’s yearly rainfall total remains slightly below average despite a wet summer.
- NOAA’s long-range outlook favors above-normal precipitation across much of the Northeast this month.
NEW YORK CITY – New York City is off to a wet start to September, with rounds of active weather casting a gloomy shadow over the month’s first week.
To start off the month, the Northeast fell under a multiday severe weather threat, with an active rotation of storms that brought rain to the Big Apple.
VIDEO: OCEANIC MANTA RAY SPOTTED OFF LONG ISLAND COAST IN RARE NEW YORK SIGHTING
People walk through Times Square during rainfall in New York City on September 01, 2026, in New York, New York.
(Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The recent rounds of rain have given September a soggy start, even as New York City’s overall rainfall total for the year remains slightly below average.
As of Sept. 1, New York City’s Central Park station had recorded 31.74 inches of precipitation, 1.27 inches below the average 33.01 inches for that point in the year, according to the National Weather Service.
NEW YORK CITY ARGUABLY HAS THE MOST UNIQUE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS IN AMERICA
Let’s examine how trading on prediction markets are assessing New York City’s total rainfall for the month.
For perspective, New York’s average of 4.31 inches of rainfall in September means 3 inches would be below average, 4 inches near normal and 5 inches only slightly wetter than normal.
The wet pattern isn’t over just yet. The rain has already disrupted the annual U.S. Open in Queens, delaying play on uncovered courts and creating a backlog of suspended and postponed matches.
WEATHER SHIFT ON THE WAY AS TEMPERATURES COOL DOWN TO START METEOROLOGICAL FALL IN THE SOUTHEAST
Rain delays the start of play at the Grandstand Stadium during the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on September 1, 2026.
(ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Showers and thunderstorms are likely to continue through Thursday, with a high chance of precipitation to linger across the Big Apple, before drier conditions return for the weekend.
Beyond this week, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center favors above-normal precipitation across much of the Northeast for September.
