Tornado Watch: World Cup Final Threatened as Severe Flooding Hits New York and New Jersey

Argentina are due to face Spain at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but the conditions on Saturday forced both sides into last-minute changes and raised fresh questions over the region's ability to cope with back-to-back weather shocks. (Credit: Hurfer/Wikimedia Commons)

Argentina and Spain's World Cup Final preparations in New Jersey were thrown into turmoil on Saturday after violent thunderstorms and flash flooding swept across New York City and the neighbouring state, prompting emergency alerts and a tornado warning just a day before the showpiece at MetLife Stadium.

Authorities reported that parts of New York and New Jersey were deluged by between two and four inches of rain in just a few hours, according to the US National Weather Service. Streets in several neighbourhoods disappeared under water, cars were left partially submerged and drivers were seen abandoning vehicles to wade through chest-high floods. The downpours triggered what officials described as 'travel chaos,' with water pouring into subway stations and key roads grinding to a halt as lanes vanished beneath standing water.