Flash floods hit several cities and towns south of Boston Thursday morning as historic rain brought traffic to a crawl and clogged streets and highways during rush hour.

With rain coming down so fast, storm drains couldn’t handle the deluge of water. On Interstate 93 in Quincy, all lanes were closed at one point because of extreme flooding during rush hour. At least three cars were stuck on the highway for hours until the water receded.

“It was slow traffic. We came to what seemed like a giant pond in the middle of the road. There was a worker sticking a pole or something in one of the drains and I stopped and the cops waved me through. And as I went through, I didn’t take my foot off the gas at all. All my lights went on and the car just rolled to a stop. And that happened to the guy behind me and to the woman on the side,” said Kerri Kuehne, one of the drivers who ended up stuck on the highway.

Kuehne’s van was stuck in the middle of I-93 along with two other cars. 

“Every time they sent a truck or a car by, our vehicles would move like boats,” she said. “So, we were almost hitting each other… the waves would come, and you could feel them pick up the car. It was crazy.” 

“A 1 in 200 year event”

The amount of rain south of Boston was stunning. Weymouth recorded 6.37 inches during the storm.

In Hingham, 6.21 inches fell. Braintree had 5.23, Sharon ended up with 4.67 and 3.87 inches fell in Walpole.

According to WBZ-TV executive weather producer Terry Eliasen, those totals “equated to a 1 in 200 year event this morning.”

“Ready to climb through the sunroof”

In Braintree, a driver got stuck in a flash flood on Granite Street and ended up trapped in his car.

“It was all the way up to the window, that’s how deep it was and the car started flooding. Inside, it (rose) all the way up to my seat. Then I had to sit on the console because it got up to the console and by that time, that’s when the police arrived and helped me out of the vehicle,” said the driver, who only wanted to be identified as Paul.

“I was ready to climb through the sunroof. That was my only way out. I couldn’t open the doors.”  

According to AAA, just six inches of water can cause a car to lose control and stall an engine. A foot of water on a road is enough to lift a car and carry it away. Large SUVs and trucks can be moved in just two feet of water.