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Record-breaking rain soaks Long Island, NYC mostly spared

While Long Islanders woke up to 3 a.m. flash flood warnings and thought about swimming to work Wednesday morning, New York City faced only 3.19 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Islip, meanwhile, saw record-breaking rainfall, gathering more than 5 inches in one hour and a total of 13.1 inches by 8 a.m., hitting a one-day record high for all of Long Island and rivaling the town’s monthly rainfall record of 14.07 inches.

Before Wednesday, Central Park had only received a total of 0.67 inches of rain in the entire month of August thus far, and 10.52 inches total from June 1 to Aug. 12, including a flash flood in July, according to the National Weather Service.

Flooding closed parts of Long Island’s major roadways, including the Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway, and led to system-wide delays for the Long Island Rail Road.

In New York City, showers and a possible thunderstorm are expected before noon, with chances of precipitation decreasing later in the day. New rainfall isn’t expected to surpass 0.1 inches, the National Weather Service predicts.