Thankfully no major flooding was expected from the rain, though some ponding on roads was to be expected throughout the day, especially in low lying and poor drainage areas. Steady rainfall started to exit by the early afternoon,

Heavy rain and snow is expected across the tri-state area on Thursday, a day after City officials declared the fist drought warning in over two decades.

New York City has received just over an inch of rain, not nearly enough to end the drought but definitely helpful, a winter storm hits our region, dropping potentially as much as a foot of snow in areas of upstate New York and parts of the southern tier.

Jackie Bray, New York state Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, joined WNYC for an update.

New York City declared its first drought warning in over 20 years. Most of the area is in severe or extreme drought.

While an inch of rain is expected to fall by the end of Friday, meteorologists say it still won’t be enough to undo the region’s drought conditions.

A new weather pattern is settling into the New York City area, bringing some much-needed rain and even some snow in parts of the Tri-State Area. The CBS News New York First Alert Weather Team has issued a Red Alert through Friday morning.

Rain (at long last!) arrives overnight tonight and could bring a quick inch or two to much of the tri-state by sunrise Thursday. Light showers will linger through the rest of the week, but the big news will be the heavy rain Thursday morning.