"The rain was coming down so hard; it was coming down in bucketfuls," Michelle Laxton said.
Residents say it was around 2:30 p.m. when the skies opened up and released a torrential downpour.
The rain was coming down so fast, the storm drains could not keep up.
Soon the roadway, which goes down under the Moore Prospect Park train underpass, began to flood and forced cars to turn around. Within minutes the floodwaters were over 5 feet deep.
Two volunteer firefighters trekked through the high waters to get to work and onlookers feared they were in trouble.
"The one guy stopped in the middle because it was too deep, he couldn't get across," resident Jack Pfugh said.
They did, however, get to the other side of the road safely.
Another motorist was not so lucky and had to be rescued from his car around the corner on Main Street.
"I've been here five years and I've never seen it this bad," Laxton said.
Route 420, which was shut down to the rising water, reopened in time for the busy rush hour.
