NYC Weather Forecast: Storm Could Bring Heavy Rain, Flash Floods To City (UPDATES)

NEW YORK, NY — A fat, wet summer storm could hit NYC hard enough Friday to cause flash flooding in some parts of the city, government weather forecasters warned in a "hazardous weather outlook" issued this week for all five boroughs.

Scroll down for an hour-by-hour forecast. (Or, to get updates on the storm and other local news delivered straight to your inbox — for free! — subscribe to Patch's email newsletters and alerts for your NYC neighborhood.)

Storm clouds began forming over NYC overnight Thursday, and rain started to fall Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Rains were expected to continue through at least 3 p.m. Friday, then possibly return in the evening and/or the next morning, forecasters said.

The city may see "scattered thunderstorms" and "heavy rainfall" during this time, "creating hazardous travel weather," the weather service said. The storm could also cause flooding in city streets, forecasters warned, and "there will be a chance of flash flooding."

Here's the latest hour-by-hour forecast for the storm, courtesy of DarkSky.net:

July 7 Hourly Forecast for New York City

Rain later Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

2pm - Rain, 71°

Chance of rain: 61%. Wind 9 mph from the NNE.

3pm - Light Rain, 74°

Chance of rain: 44%. Wind 8 mph from the NNE.

4pm - Light Rain, 76°

Chance of rain: 19%. Wind 5 mph from the NNW.

5pm - Partly Cloudy, 77°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the N.

6pm - Clear, 77°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 3 mph from the ENE.

7pm - Clear, 76°

Chance of rain: 1%. Wind 4 mph from the S.

8pm - Clear, 75°

Chance of rain: 1%. Wind 4 mph from the SSW.

9pm - Clear, 74°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 5 mph from the SSW.

10pm - Clear, 73°

Chance of rain: 4%. Wind 6 mph from the SSW.

11pm - Drizzle, 72°

Chance of rain: 10%. Wind 6 mph from the SSW.

12am - Partly Cloudy, 72°

Chance of rain: 4%. Wind 6 mph from the SW.

1am - Clear, 72°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 7 mph from the SW.

2am - Clear, 72°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 7 mph from the SW.

3am - Partly Cloudy, 71°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 8 mph from the SW.

4am - Partly Cloudy, 71°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 7 mph from the SW.

5am - Mostly Cloudy, 71°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 7 mph from the SSW.

6am - Light Rain, 71°

Chance of rain: 18%. Wind 8 mph from the SW.

7am - Rain, 72°

Chance of rain: 33%. Wind 8 mph from the SW.

8am - Rain, 73°

Chance of rain: 38%. Wind 8 mph from the SW.

9am - Rain, 75°

Chance of rain: 29%. Wind 9 mph from the WSW.

10am - Light Rain, 77°

Chance of rain: 15%. Wind 10 mph from the WSW.

11am - Drizzle, 79°

Chance of rain: 6%. Wind 10 mph from the WSW.

12pm - Light Rain, 81°

Chance of rain: 11%. Wind 11 mph from the SW.

1pm - Light Rain, 82°

Chance of rain: 12%. Wind 11 mph from the W.

It's still unclear exactly how hard the storm system, which is expected to run all the way from the Kentucky-Missouri border over to the Atlantic Coast, will hit NYC in particular. But forecasters aren't ruling out the possibility of 1 inch of new rainfall building up in city streets by Friday afternoon — and if it all comes down at once, we could see some pretty intense urban flooding.

"The rain can come down fast enough to slow travel on the highways and create a low cloud ceiling and low visibility at airports from Nashville, Tennessee, and Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., to perhaps New York City," AccuWeather reported ahead of the storm.

"Minor incidents of flash and urban flooding can occur as well," AccuWeather reported.

There's then a 30 percent chance the showers and thunderstorms will last through Friday night and into Saturday, as daytime temps approach a sticky 85 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The good news: If all goes as predicted, New Yorkers will be rewarded for weathering the summer storm with another gorgeous Sunday. The government forecast is showing clear skies all day Sunday, with a high in the low 80s.

Lead image by Tony Hisgett/Flickr