Thunderous downpours boomed across the tri-state overnight, blasting the New York City area with flash flood warnings as dawn broke Monday, and making for a rough morning commute. Rainfall rates were expected to possibly exceed 1 to 2 inches an hour at times, a challenge for New York City subways and vehicular traffic alike. Flash flood warnings were issued for the entire tri-state. They were allowed to expire at 8:45 a.m., leaving road closures and traffic problems in their wakes. Another round of heavy rain is expected later Monday morning into the early afternoon. That’s the primary concern with this system, particularly for areas inundated by recent rounds of torrential rain from summer storms — and from heavy rain Monday morning. Damaging winds are less likely. A flash flood warning is up for New York City, most of New Jersey, and the Hudson Valley, through the Monday morning commute. Flood watches, though, persist tri-state-wide through Monday evening. Check the latest severe weather alerts for your neighborhood here. Isolated severe weather is possible in other parts of the tri-state area, though any strong storms during the day would be scattered. Brace for showers throughout the day, though it won’t rain the whole time. Wind gusts near 60 mph are also possible, though prolonged, heavy rain is the larger concern. Conditions gradually improve heading into the afternoon, drying out completely later Monday night. Tuesday looks like the one nice day we get this week, then rain could return as early as Wednesday afternoon with storm chances from Thursday through the weekend. ...read more read less