Federal forecasters issued flood watches for 39 million people from Saturday night through Sunday as a line of thunderstorms developed from Washington, D.C. to New Haven, Connecticut. New York City Emergency Management warned residents of heavy rain and possible flash flooding until Sunday morning when the city opened 51 weather shelters for those vulnerable to flooding, including people in basement apartments. The National Weather Service issued a series of flood watches, including flood watches, from Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday for parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. A flood watch for New York City was scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. Sunday and extend until noon. New York City Emergency Management said in a statement that 5 to 7 inches of rain could fall in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as southern Connecticut, and warned that the city’s eastern boroughs could also be hit by heavy rain. said. “New Yorkers in neighborhoods living in basements and below grade are urged to move to higher ground tonight.” A flood watch for parts of southern Connecticut, including northern New Haven, was in effect until Sunday afternoon, according to the weather service. The storms are emerging as a cold air mass high in the atmosphere moves east and collides with warmer air, federal forecasters said. the service said in a forecast discussion Saturday night.
