Wet weather washed out Labor Day picnics and parades in the eastern half of the United States, hitting Indiana hardest, delaying the U.S. Open (search) in New York and drenching Kansas, where a fifth death was attributed to flash floods.
A front stretched across the Ohio Valley and combined with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to produce heavy rain from the Midwest to the Northeast Monday, the National Weather Service (search) said.
In suburban Kansas City, authorities found the body Monday of an 18-year-old who attempted to wade in a rain-swollen creek. Downpours that started early Saturday caused a flash flood that swept across a highway near Emporia, drowning four children as their family's minivan was dragged more than a mile. Their mother and another motorist were still missing Monday.
Small boats ferried Indianapolis residents from homes cut off by floodwaters, and railroad ties floated around a mobile home park on the city's northeast side, where the water in places was up to 3 feet high.
At Ace Hardware in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, there was a run on sump pumps, sand bags and drain pipes.
"We thought we'd be selling grills today," said employee Mike Ellis.
More than 7.1 inches had fallen in Indianapolis by early evening Monday, breaking a 108-year-old record of 6.8 inches in a calendar day.
"It's the first time I've seen it come down like that," said Bonnita Megginson, whose car was one of several flooded at an apartment complex on the west side of Indianapolis.
Steady rain around Ohio canceled parades statewide and an air show in Cleveland. In New York City, the rain delayed tennis at the U.S. Open for more than four hours.
Meanwhile, the rain-laden remnants of Tropical Storm Grace streamed across eastern Texas, causing scattered street flooding but no major problems.
Grace was the third storm to hit Texas this season. Hurricane Claudette came ashore in July, killing two people and causing an estimated $90 million in damage. A month later, Tropical Storm Erica moved ashore near Brownsville, bringing heavy rain to the Rio Grande Valley (search).
In Hawaii, Tropical Storm Jimena skirted the southern edge of the Big Island after being downgraded from a hurricane.
Several beaches were closed Monday because of rough waves and rip currents. Power outages blacked out several thousand residents.
"Given the conditions and what we could've had, it's not too bad," Hawaii Electric Light Co. spokesman Jay Ignacio said.
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