The forecasts for NYC rainfall were exceptional and it seems the threat was communicated from NWS to government leaders in Albany. However, as we usually see with these events, there is the typical refrain of “we weren’t warned” about how bad it would be. Indeed, kids went to school and people went to work Friday morning not expected to be floating under feet of flooding hours later. Only after the rain fell and the situation was beyond control was a “flood emergency” issued by authorities.

It’s clear that free weather apps are entirely inadequate for conveying the range of outcomes during a high-end extreme weather event. More on this next week.