Northeast faces weekend of relentless wind, rain and coastal flooding as powerful fall nor’easter digs in
A computer model forecast of the storm's location and wind speeds on Saturday morning.
By Meteorologists Mary Gilbert, Chris Dolce, Dakota Smith
(CNN) — An intensifying early season nor’easter has arrived in the Northeast and is set to deliver a prolonged stretch of strong wind, soaking rain and coastal flooding to the region through the weekend.
More than 40 million people will feel the storm’s impact through Sunday. Areas from Boston to the New York City metro and New Jersey are starting to see the storm’s wind-driven rain and coastal flooding, conditions that will increase into Saturday. Strong wind could knock out power and down trees, especially on the immediate coast.
Here’s what to know:
- Power outages incoming: Wind and rain will peak through Saturday. Gusts could hit 50 mph for the New York City area and 60 mph near Boston. The heaviest rain totals — up to 5 inches — are expected in eastern Massachusetts, including Boston. That’s more than a month’s worth of rain for the area.
- Battered shorelines: Tides are rising ahead of Saturday’s full moon, worsening coastal flooding. Areas near the water in the New York City area could see up to 3 feet of inundation. Much of the Mid-Atlantic, from North Carolina to New Jersey, has experienced coastal flooding since Wednesday as the storm pushes ocean water into seaside communities and onto roads.
- Emergency operations: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for several counties and New York City. A state of emergency will also be issued for eight counties in New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said. Emergency operations centers will be activated this weekend in Boston, city officials announced, as well as in Connecticut, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.
- Canceled concerts, travel concerns: Ed Sheeran’s Massachusetts concerts are among the shows this weekend canceled due to the weather, as controversy swirls around his tour. In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a travel advisory due to flooding concerns. Major airlines, including American, United, Southwest, JetBlue and Delta, have also waived change fees for certain flights through northeastern airports, citing the storm.
The forecast
The nor’easter, named for the direction its punishing wind comes from, is strengthening as it tracks northward about 300 miles off the Northeast Coast.
Rain from the system has already reached Long Island and parts of eastern Massachusetts, but the peak of the storm will arrive Saturday. The nor’easter will then wobble near the coast through Monday, while only gradually losing steam. That sluggish path will allow the storm to lay a long-lived siege of high wind, coastal flooding and drenching rainfall.
New York City will see periods of heavy rain and wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. Urban flooding is possible through several high tides through Sunday. The flooding could be worsened if rain is falling at the same time that water levels are rising.
Events across the New York City metro are being called off amid the storm. AC/DC’s concert at MetLife Stadium Friday night has been rescheduled for next week. All three days of the All Things Go music festival and the annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park have been canceled.
In Boston, the incoming storm prompted the Red Sox to move their Saturday game against the Chicago Cubs to the Tampa Bay Rays stadium in Florida.
Strong wind gusts between 50 to 60 mph will also blast the coast from southern New England and Long Island to New Jersey, especially from later Friday through Saturday night. That is strong enough to down trees and knock out power, especially because trees that are full of leaves are more prone to fall in high wind.
The strongest wind will likely be on the immediate coast south of Boston toward Cape Cod.
Boston’s emergency operations center will be activated Friday through Monday, Kyron Owens, a spokesperson for the city’s emergency management agency, said in a news conference Friday. Officials said they expect downed trees will cause power issues too. The area’s transit authority has canceled all ferry services Saturday and Sunday, and some routes are canceled Friday.
Wind will also rough up seas considerably and cause significant beach erosion and minor to major coastal flooding at high tide all weekend from New Jersey to southern New England, made worse by Saturday’s full moon. In areas where major flooding is expected, there could be widespread road flooding and water entering homes and businesses.
Residents and businesses on New York’s Long Island told CNN affiliate WABC they are bracing for the possibility of not leaving home for a few days. Crews at Jones Beach have also built large sand piles to protect the shoreline and help prevent flooding, WABC said.
Many locations from southeast New England to New Jersey will see 2 or more inches of rain.
Rainfall rates won’t be intense, but the longevity of it could saturate the ground and cause some flooding in urban, poor drainage areas and roads, especially where it coincides with coastal flooding at high tide.
The worst of the storm will begin to wind down in the Northeast by Sunday afternoon, but rain and breezy conditions will still persist through Monday.
Relentless wind drove days of coastal flooding in the Mid-Atlantic
Farther south, hammering wind and surf have been causing coastal flooding and beach erosion for days along the Mid-Atlantic, including in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.
A few locations in southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina have seen major flooding.
A stretch of North Carolina’s Highway 12, the slim road connecting the Outer Banks barrier islands, remains closed at Rodanthe in Dare County. An estimated 500 feet of roadway is damaged, which is uncommon, state Department of Transportation spokesperson Tim Hass told CNN Friday.
Roads and neighborhoods have flooded during high tides in Norfolk, Virginia, since Wednesday.
Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Nags Head, North Carolina, are among the communities that have closed beaches to swimming due to the storm. In Ocean City, Maryland, organizers canceled the first day of the three-day Oceans Calling music festival, citing weather impacts.
Coastal flooding and strong wind should begin to ease slowly this weekend in southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina, but will continue farther north in New Jersey.
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CNN’s Kate S. Petersen and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.
