Heavy rains and high winds are making their way into the immediate New York City area, as a storm moves up the East Coast.

Rainfall totals of two to four inches are expected for Wednesday, with sustained winds of at least 20 miles an hour. Gusts of 47 miles an hour were reported at Kennedy Airport Wednesday morning.

By 9 a.m., over three inches of rain had fallen in some areas and there was flooding on many roads, with flood warnings in effect for northern New Jersey, Westchester, Rockland and Fairfield counties.

The Bronx River Parkway was closed in both directions from the Sprain Brook Parkway to Route 100 due to flooding, and one driver had to be rescued after being trapped in rising waters on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Eastchester.

Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing Wednesday night, making for slick driving conditions as water on the roads turns to ice.

The storm has caused power outages throughout the Tri-State area, including 10,500 customers on Long Island, 4,100 in Connecticut, 2,500 in New York City, 848 in Westchester, and 622 in New Jersey.

Ahead of the storm, they brought out the heavy machinery in Westchester County. Not to plow snow, but to prevent flooded roadways.

Crews were busy on the Saw Mill River Parkway, suctioning leaves and debris out of storm drains to prevent flooding and keep traffic flowing for the holiday getaway.

Motorists in Westchester know the Saw Mill River Parkway is one of the first roads to take on water during periods of heavy rain.

The cleanup was near one of the most flood prone areas of the parkway. The stretch between Marble Avenue and Manville Road runs directly next to the river and it doesn’t take much for water to spill onto the roadway. Just last month the state repaved and slightly raised the southbound lanes. Residents in Pleasantville who are forced to deal with traffic-choked streets when the parkway is shut down hope it’ll make a difference.

On Long Island, Coneys Marine is doing what they have done ahead of a lot storms over the last 30 years. They have always flooded, even with a light rain.

“We’ve done sand bagging. We have pumps inside our store,” Matt Coneys said.

The New York State Department of Transporation has been working on Rt. 110 in Halesite, creating traffic circles, elevating the road one foot and putting in new drains, hoping to solve the problem for these businesses. The storm will be the first big test of their work.

“We’ve gone through this many times before and we hope that the state project works to solve it,” Coneys said.

Heavy rain and breezy conditions were to strike the East Coast from the Carolinas to the Northeast on Wednesday, with ice and snow a possibility in the Appalachians, western Pennsylvania and western New York. Snow totals from the Ohio Valley to the interior of the Northeast were expected to be less than 10 inches, the weather service said.

The storm system, which developed in the West, has been blamed for at least 11 deaths, half of them in Texas. It limped across Arkansas with a smattering of snow, sleet and freezing rain that didn’t meet expectations.

“It’s just really cold. We had drizzle but no snow,” said Courtney O’Neal-Walden, an owner of the Dairyette diner on U.S. 270 in Mount Ida, Ark. “You can see (ice) on the power lines but the roads are fine.”

She said ominous warnings of a wintery storm kept most people inside – although schools remained open – and few stopped by the diner for Monday’s $5.99 special of popcorn shrimp, fries and a medium drink.

But the system packed plenty of punch as it moved eastward.

(Source: WABC)