Flooding shutters roadways and highways as rain hammers North Jersey

The storms Tuesday night are wreaking havoc on roads in North Jersey.

There were reports of trapped motorists on flooded streets in Leonia, Englewood, Bogota, Alpine, Lyndhurst, Hillsdale, West Orange and Hackensack.

"Nearly half the city of Hackensack is flooded. Do not drive into any flooded areas. Please avoid Hackensack if possible. If you're out on the road find a diner somewhere to eat or a dry spot and just wait till the water recedes," the Hackensack Fire Department posted on X, formerly Twitter, at 7:41 p.m. In a Facebook post, the Hackensack FD said it has made "multiple rescues."

There is flooding on the major highways as well, according to the NJ Department of Transportation's 511NJ.org site:

• On Route 21 in Clifton, flooding has closed all lanes near Exit 9 (Route 3) in both directions as of 9:10 p.m.

• On I-80 west in Parsippany-Troy Hills, flooding has closed the right lane near Exit 42 as of 8:05 p.m.

• On Route 208 in Hawthorne near Goffle Road, flooding has made two of the three lanes impassable as of 7:37 p.m.

• On Route 17 in Ramsey, flooding has shut down all lanes in both directions near the Franklin Turnpike as of 7:22 p.m.

• On Route 17 in Rochelle Park, flooding has closed all northbound lanes near Central Avenue as of 6:56 p.m.

• On Route 46 in Clifton, flooding has closed all eastbound lanes near Piaget Avenue as of 6:53 p.m.

• On Route 124 in Madison, flooding has closed all lanes near Elm Street as of 6:51 p.m.

• The New Jersey Turnpike/I-95 northbound lanes were flooded near Exit 71 in Bergen County. The right and center lanes were blocked as of 6:58 p.m. All lanes reopened as of 9:18 p.m.

• On Route 4 in Englewood, flooding has closed all the westbound lanes near Jones Road as of 6:30 p.m.

• On the Garden State Parkway in Saddle Brook, flooding near Exit 159 has the two left lanes blocked as of 6:26 p.m.

• On Route 3 westbound in Clifton, near the Garden State Parkway flooding has shut down all the lanes as of 6:28 p.m.

The Wayne Police Department tweeted on X.com: "Heavy rain is expected to continue for the next few hours. Flash flooding of roadways is possible. Do not drive through standing water and obey road closures for your safety. Thank you."

More: Water company said to lower Woodcliff Lake ahead of storms as mayors fret over flooding

Flash flood warning extended

The National Weather Service has extended its flash flood warning until 9:45 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties. In Morris County, a flash flood warning is in effect until 10:45 p.m.

The NWS states that as of 8:43 p.m. that between 2 and 4.5 inches of rain has fallen and it expects the rainfall rate to continue at 0.25 to 1 inches per hour.

Bob Ziff of the North Jersey Weather Observers reported that just 2.09 inches of rain fell in Ramsey between 6:25 and 7:25 p.m.

In addition, a flood watch is in effect until Wednesday for 15 of the state's 21 counties including Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset and Union.

The NJ Department of Transportation warned in a tweet prior to the storm: "Be prepared this afternoon and into tonight for high winds, heavy rain and potential flooding. Remember: Turn Around, Don’t Drown! Water may be higher than it appears."

More: Here's what not to do during a flood

Flight delays at Newark Airport

All flights coming into Newark Liberty International Airport, JFK and LaGuardia are being held at their point of origin until at least 9:30 p.m. due the storms, according to FlightAware.com which monitors air travel.

At Newark airport, FlightAware also reports that inbound flights are being delayed an average of 2 hours, 40 minutes, while departing flights are experiencing delays of under 2 hours and decreasing.

Storms causing power outages

The severe thunderstorm and heavy rains Tuesday evening have caused thousands of North Jersey residents to lose power.

JCP&L was reporting 2,057 customers in Morris County without power as of 7:40 p.m., but my 9 p.m. the number was down to 1,468.

PSE&G had 1,768 customers without power in Essex County as of 7:40 p.m., but by 9 p.m. that number dropped to 226.

Weather delays trains

NJ Transit stated on X: "Rail service into and out of Penn Station New York is subject to up to 30-minute delays due to weather-related equipment availability issues."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Flooding closes roadways, highways as rain hits North Jersey