--- description: Record setting rainfall pounded the East and Gulf Coasts Wednesday and threatened to drop even more on the Eastern seaboard Thursday. title: Record-Setting Rain Ravages Southern and Eastern Coasts image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec1d10580a48b68a/69868d4f3bc9998c0b1a33b6/baltimore-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Record-Setting Rain Ravages Southern and Eastern Coasts  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 1, 2014 12:06 PM CUT  An emergency worker walks on the other side of the street where one car still rests precariously after a retaining wall collapsed beneath a row of vehicles in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30, 2014. An emergency worker walks on the other side of the street where one car still rests precariously after a retaining wall collapsed beneath a row of vehicles in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30, 2014.Karl Merton Ferron—Baltimore Sun/Reuters  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 1, 2014 12:06 PM CUT _Updated 12:45 p.m. ET_ Record-setting rainfall pounded the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States on Tuesday and Wednesday, with even more rain looming for some parts of the Eastern Seaboard. Florida was hit particularly hard, and by Thursday afternoon, people in the Panhandle region were cleaning up as floodwaters receded. The National Weather Service warned Wednesday of a “complex storm system” that will continue to rain down on the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast into Thursday. In parts of the Gulf Coast, hurricane-tested residents faced unprecedented rainfall that flooded highways and washed away parts of homes. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency and warned residents to expect more flooding. The NWS said up to [18.9 inches of rain](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/us/severe-weather/ "undefined") fell over a 24-hour period in Alabama and Florida, CNN reports. The airport in Pensacola, Florida recorded 15.55 inches of rain, the highest rainfall total in a single calendar day since the NWS began tracking rainfall totals in 1880. The rainfall in the Gulf Coast was connected to a storm system that fueled tornadoes and severe storms across the south and midsection of the country earlier this week. Those violent storms were linked to the deaths of 36 people. The bad weather spread east as nighttime fell on Wednesday. Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport recorded 5.18 inches of rain on Wednesday, [breaking a daily record](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/04/30/pm-update-flooding-risk-through-evening-but-mostly-dry-and-warmer-thursday/ "undefined"), the Washington _Post_ reports. New York City’s Central Park saw the [11th heaviest daily rainfall](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/new-york-today-waterlogged/?hp "undefined") according to the New York _Times._ [Flood warnings](http://www.google.org/publicalerts/alert?aid=771902d0415d78ad&hl=en&gl=US&source=web "undefined") were in effect for New York City early Thursday morning. There’s a chance of rainstorms Thursday in cities from Jacksonville, Fl. to Portland, Maine, Accuweather [forecasts](http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/severe-storm-threat-retreats-t/26321467 "undefined"), while residents in the Southeast are in for even more trouble as more rain is expected Friday. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/us/severe-weather/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/"},"headline":"Record-Setting Rain Ravages Southern and Eastern Coasts","datePublished":"2014-05-01T12:06:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:35:58.680Z","description":"Rainfall connected to storms that wrought deadly tornadoes in the Midwest and South this week has tested the Gulf Coast, where some areas saw the most precipitation on record since the National Weather Service began tracking rainfall totals in 1880","url":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/","keywords":["weather","storm","Rain","Record"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec1d10580a48b68a/69868d4f3bc9998c0b1a33b6/baltimore-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec1d10580a48b68a/69868d4f3bc9998c0b1a33b6/baltimore-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An emergency worker walks on the other side of the street where one car still rests precariously after a retaining wall collapsed beneath a row of vehicles in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30, 2014.","caption":"An emergency worker walks on the other side of the street where one car still rests precariously after a retaining wall collapsed beneath a row of vehicles in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30, 2014.","creditText":"Karl Merton Ferron—Baltimore Sun/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/","name":"Record-Setting Rain Ravages Southern and Eastern Coasts"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Storms Move North","description":"Storms that caused flooding throughout the South move North.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8tCvn5Qy/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-01T13:55:25.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8tCvn5Qy.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/","duration":"PT57S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/83954/rain-weather-south-east-coasts/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```