New York City has recorded 8.04 inches of rain so far in August, making it the rainiest August in five years, as a series of intense storms has caused flooding across the five boroughs and forecasters warn that more rain could fall before the month is out.
The figure, reported by the New York Post and attributed to Carl Erickson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, is far above the amount recorded during August 2025, when Central Park received just 2.21 inches of rain for the entire month.
Storms turn city streets into rivers
Conditions worsened noticeably over the past few days, when a storm dumped nearly 3 inches of rain on New York in a short span of time. The downpour was enough to turn some streets into rivers and created problems for drivers and pedestrians.
The picture deteriorated again on Sunday, when up to 1.5 inches of rain fell across all five boroughs over roughly three hours, beginning around 5 a.m. The intensity of the rainfall flooded a number of roads and forced some drivers to abandon their vehicles.
Two cars became stuck near exit 5 of the Clearview Expressway in Queens. Sections of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway were closed temporarily as well. Occupants of both stranded vehicles were helped out by the New York City Fire Department.
Still short of historic rainfall records
Although August 2026 ranks among the wettest in recent years, it remains well short of some historical records. In August 2021, Central Park recorded 10.32 inches of rain, while August 2011 reached an extraordinary 18.95 inches, driven in part by tropical storms Henri and Irene.
Erickson said that compared with recent years, this August had definitely been one of the rainiest in New York.
Why the rain is triggering flash flooding
Erickson said a defining feature of this summer's storms has been the large volume of water falling in very short periods of time.
He said the rain that moved through the city early Sunday morning mostly fell within a couple of hours, and that the same pattern had played out repeatedly throughout the summer, with many of August's intense rain events dumping their water in a short window.
He warned that given how the city is laid out, with large amounts of pavement, that kind of rainfall can quickly create concerns about flash flooding. Paved surfaces slow the ground's ability to absorb water, allowing intense rain to pool on streets and highways within minutes.
Brief dry stretch before Thursday showers return
After the recent storms, New Yorkers can expect a few days of relative calm. However, another chance of scattered showers and localized flooding is expected on Thursday, before a drier period sets in.
Erickson said the next best chance for precipitation would probably come Thursday, and that conditions were expected to turn dry again afterward, bringing a fairly stable, dry stretch into the following week.
Looking ahead to fall, temperatures could stay above the historical average while precipitation settles near typical levels, though forecasters cautioned that any major rain event could alter those projections, particularly as an El Nino pattern develops and could shape weather conditions through autumn and winter.
Weekly forecast for New York City
According to The Weather Channel, this week's weather in New York City is expected to be mostly warm and variable, with highs consistently ranging between 82°F and 85°F. Overnight lows are expected to stay steady between 66°F and 72°F, accompanied by light breezes from the west and southwest.
Despite partly sunny skies and clear conditions forecast for the start of the week, from Monday through Wednesday, caution is advised heading into the second half of the week. Forecasters point to elevated chances of scattered rain and thunderstorms, particularly during Thursday and Friday afternoons, extending in a more isolated form into the coming weekend.
