Heavy Rain, Orange
- When
- April 21, 10:30 AM EST to 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Orange County, Central Portion
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 41.402, -74.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in New York, April 21, 2000
A series of intense thunderstorms moved north to northeast across Nassau and Western Suffolk Counties during Friday afternoon and evening on April 21st. Rainfall amounts ranged from around 3 to 7 inches.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.
A series of intense thunderstorms moved north to northeast across Nassau and Western Suffolk Counties during Friday afternoon and evening on April 21st. The thunderstorms were accompanied by torrential rainfall that produced widespread severe flooding of low-lying and poor drainage areas and frequent and intense lightning strikes.Rainfall amounts ranged from around 3 to 7 inches. Significant and widespread ponding of water caused the closure of several stretches of road such as from Route 109 to Wellwood Avenue along the Sunrise Highway in Lindenhurst and stretches of Park Avenue and Siegel Boulevard in Babylon Village. Many cars were trapped by rising flood waters in Babylon, necessitating several rescues. Severe urban flooding also occurred in the westbound lanes of Hempstead Turnpike near the Nassau Medical Center in East Meadow.Frequent and intense lightning strikes ignited fires and caused damage to many houses throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties. At 5:30 pm, lightning struck and ignited a house fire on Tahlulah Lane in West Islip. Lightning blew a 4-inch hole in the siding of a house on Oakwood Road in Huntington Station. Houses were also struck by lightning in Floral Park, Port Washington and Hicksville. Cost estimates of property damage were unavailable.Here are selected rainfall amounts for:Nassau County: from 3.50 inches at Plainview to 6.64 inches at Baldwin. Spotters measured 5.54 inches at Wantagh and 5.26 inches at Massapequa.Suffolk County: from 2.40 inches at West Islip to 4.92 inches at Farmingdale Republic Airport. Spotters measured 4.24 inches at Lake Grove, 4.17 inches at Centerport, and 3.66 inches at Deer Park.Thunderstorms also produced heavy rain across Eastern Orange County. Rainfall amounts from 2 to 3 inches caused ponding of water in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2.04 inches at Montgomery to 2.44 inches at Newburgh. A spotter from Middletown measured 2.25 inches.
The radar
The Albany radar (KENX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:28 UTC.
Event by event
4 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Suffolk
- When
- April 21, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Suffolk County, West Islip
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Suffolk
- When
- April 21, 4:55 PM EST
- Where
- Suffolk County, Lindenhurst
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Nassau
- When
- April 21, 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nassau County, East Portion
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.732, -73.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Suffolk
- When
- April 21, 7:00 PM EST to 7:10 PM EST
- Where
- Suffolk County, Babylon
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Suffolk
- When
- April 21, 10:35 PM EST
- Where
- Suffolk County, West Central Portion
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Storm Surge in Maryland, April 21, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Massachusetts, April 21 to 27, 2000
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, April 21, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Connecticut, April 21, 2000
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, April 21, 2000
- Flash Flood and Lightning Strikes in New Jersey, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, April 21, 2000
More
Every storm in New York in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, April 2000
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5140853, 5140850, 5140851, 5140849, 5140854, 5140852.