Heavy Rain, Floods Pummel Northeast

The Northeast was pelted with heavy rain Friday, causing street flooding and icy conditions that meant another tough day for commuters struggling through an already brutal winter.

The heavy rain combined with melting snow in many areas to create flash flooding, which was worsened because many storm drains remained clogged with ice.

A commuter train traveling 70 m.p.h. slammed into a mudslide that had spread across all four tracks of the Hudson River Line, which is operated by the Metro-North Commuter Railroad north of New York City.

The impact derailed the front set of wheels on the first of two locomotives. No injuries were reported on the five-car train, but a railroad spokeswoman said it would take hours to clear mud and fallen trees at the site.

Major highways throughout the area were closed just as the evening rush hour began. A section of the usually packed Long Island Expressway was shut down because of the flooding. Many streets in low-lying areas also were closed.

The New York City Fire Department was called to the Central Park Zoo to pump out 10 feet of water. The water, which elevated the levels of the seal pond, did not injure any of the animals.

Elsewhere, creeks swollen by melting snow, ice jams and nearly two inches of rain surged out of their banks Friday across northern West Virginia, flooding streets and homes and forcing evacuations.

In Wheeling, W. Va., where 1.8 inches of rain fell overnight, a milelong ice jam blocked Wheeling Creek and pushed it out of its banks for the second time in three days.

“We haven’t had any injuries or deaths, but we have had some people who needed rescuing because it was quick rising. You might call it a flash flood,” said Jim Bruce, assistant fire chief in Wheeling. “We had to evacuate them due to medical difficulties and panic.”

In Philadelphia, concerns about icy roadways did not materialize Friday, but commuting in the area remained a nightmare.

“The snow and ice situation has turned to flooding,” said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Edward Myslewicz.

During the morning, several central Pennsylvania highways, including a portion of Interstate 80, were temporarily closed due to icing before the rain melted the ice, Myslewicz said.

More than two feet of water covered some major roads in the Philadelphia area at midday.

Pennsylvania state office buildings were closed Friday in Reading, Scranton and Harrisburg. Schools and businesses across Vermont were closed because of icy roads.

Most schools were closed and many businesses opened late around Washington, D.C., as rain, sleet and freezing rain fell on top of a bed of ice.

Federal employees were given a “liberal leave” policy, which meant they could take the day off as personal leave time. Government offices remained open, however.

Maine got a slippery mix of snow and sleet, closing most schools and making driving treacherous. But the precipitation gradually changed to rain along much of the coast.

Rain and fog created problems at some East Coast airports. New Jersey’s Newark International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, both which serve New York City, had delays of up to two hours because of fog.