“Is this a case of a couple of inches of rain taxing the neglected infrastructure of a large urban area?”
Nope, NYC, NE NJ, Long Island...were all crushed this morning with wicked storms. Tornado wanrings extended from Staten Island through Kings County at the height of the storms. Luckily, living on the south shore of the island about 40 miles east of the City I saw only heavy rain and some moderate wind...west of me was hit much harder, heavier rain, probably 3” in one hour, and heavy winds with possible tornado touching down. Just an awful morning....Now we get 90 to 95 and dewpoints sniffing at 80 degrees with all the water in the air...
Looking out at my vegetable garden, it’s a mess. My tomato plants fell over even though they were staked, way too much water in a relatively short period of time. The wheelbarrow was empty yesterday, it's now full to the rim.
It was really nasty here in CT, too. The underpass under the metro north/amtrak line was flooded out. Water in my cellar, too.
And folks stuck inside subway cars ... ugh! Love NYC but don't miss the commute.