DOUBLE TROUBLE: 'Extreme' flash flooding is possible in the NYC area Tuesday, then NY in 'bullseye' of Debby on Friday

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Severe thunderstorms could bring extreme flooding and damaging wind gusts to the New York City area on Tuesday night, officials warned, as Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is currently in the "bullseye" of Tropical Storm Debby starting Friday.

The biggest concern Tuesday is the potential for "extreme flash flooding," according to AccuWeather. There's a potential for 3, 4 or even 5 inches of rain in spots, which could quickly lead to life-threatening conditions.

Most of the area, including all five NYC boroughs and Long Island, is under a Flash Flood Watch from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service also warned of dangerous rip currents Tuesday in Brooklyn, Queens and the South Shore of Long Island.

Ground stops were issued at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports until at least 3:30 p.m., with delays and cancelations piling up. As of 2:45 p.m., there were 775 delays and over 450 cancelations at the three airports, according to FlightAware.

Gov. Kathy Hochul held a news conference Tuesday morning, urging people in NYC, Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley to prepare for flash flooding and power outages. She urged people to stay off the roads, saying half of all deaths during flash flooding are drivers who are "washed away" by floodwaters.

"This is expected to be bringing huge volumes of rain, estimated at 3 to 5 inches in the heaviest places," the governor said. "This could fall at the rate of 3 inches per hour, and what that leads to is severe flooding. Also, a risk of severe thunderstorms, which can be deadly."

A hot and humid Tuesday will turn increasingly cloudy by afternoon ahead of the storms. Highs will reach about 90 in Manhattan.

The heavy, gusty storms will roll in by evening and continue into Tuesday night. Showers are forecasted to linger into Wednesday, when it will only be about 70 degrees in the city.

Thursday will be much of the same—mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a high of 73. The rain is expected to become heavier Thursday night.

The next major storm threat will arrive Friday, as the northern bands from Debby will begin moving into the Tri-State.

Debby was continuing to move north up the East Coast on Tuesday after dumping more than a foot of rain and killing multiple people in Florida and Georgia.

Heavy rainfall and gusty winds are expected in the New York area late Friday, all day Saturday and into Sunday. A washout is even possible, depending on Debby's speed and trajectory, which is still taking shape.

"It's too early to tell the impact that Debby will have on New York, but every model shows that we are in the bullseye, right in the path of this storm coming," Hochul said.

Hochul said she's activated the state's Emergency Operations Center and pre-deployed 100 members of the National Guard. She's also been in communication with the MTA to be prepared for "worst-case scenarios" in the transit system, which has experienced severe flooding in the past.

"This is something we had experience with early in my term as governor, when we saw the images of water rushing down the stairs, debilitating our subway system," Hochul said. "We've taken significant remedial steps since then, and [MTA Chair Janno Lieber] has already put a number of remediation in place, as well as measures we're taking right now."

After Debby moves out, next week is shaping up to be largely sunny and clear.