A powerful nor’easter will hit the East Coast with strong winds, significant coastal flooding and rain this weekend
A powerful nor’easter is set to bring severe weather to millions of people along the East Coast, with strong winds, torrential rain and dangerous seas expected this weekend and early next week.
The storm will bring significant coastal flooding and beach erosion, as well as heavy rain and potentially destructive winds. These disruptive weather conditions will likely cause travel issues in the East and could be a nightmare for major airport hubs like Washington, DC, New York and Boston.
The Northeast is expected to develop just offshore along a stalled front covering the Southeast on Saturday and spread hazardous weather along the coast from the Carolinas to the Northeast through the weekend.
A nor’easter is simply a coastal storm named based on the direction from which its winds blow across the coast: northeast. Nor’Easters are notorious snow producers in winter, but they can occur at any time of year, bringing heavy rain. They are most common between September and April and typically develop between Georgia and New Jersey. The strongest northeast winds are also supercharged by planet-warming fossil fuel pollution, according to a July study.
This nor’easter appears to pack a punch, and the region from North Carolina to New Jersey and down to the southern New England coast will bear the brunt of the storm’s disruption.
A state of emergency will go into effect in New Jersey Saturday evening ahead of the worst impacts of the storm, Acting Governor Tahesha Way announced Friday.
“I urge all New Jersey residents to exercise caution, monitor local weather forecasts and warnings, stay informed about evacuation protocols, and stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary,” Way said in a statement.
After developing Saturday somewhere off the coast between Florida and South Carolina, it will strengthen on Sunday while hugging the North Carolina coast.
Up to half a foot of rain could fall near the North Carolina coast, accompanied by wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The Northeast will also contribute to continued erosion of beaches on the state’s Outer Banks, where at least nine unoccupied homes have collapsed into the Atlantic since Sept. 30 due to intense wave action and erosion from recent storms.
Disruptive weather will extend farther north Sunday and Monday with several inches of rain possible along the rest of the Mid-Atlantic coast and into southern New England. All areas affected by several episodes of these torrential rains could experience localized flash flooding.
Powerful winds will accompany this rain with possible prolonged gusts of 40 to 50 mph. Winds will begin blowing along the Southeast coast Friday, peaking later Saturday and Sunday across much of the mid-Atlantic coast. Some of the strongest gusts for New Jersey and southern New England will occur Sunday through Monday and could reach 60 mph at times.
Power outages are possible as these strong winds batter coastal areas for days. They could also expand further inland, towards more densely populated areas.
Significant coastal flooding will also occur from the Outer Banks to the Northeast, with tide levels this weekend just below their highest levels of the month. The combination of torrential rain and strong winds pushing water toward shore will be powerful: Dozens of coastal areas from North Carolina to New York are expected to reach moderate to major flooding from this northeast.
In Delaware and New Jersey — particularly in the southern part of the state — coastal flooding could become severe enough to make some roads impassable and flood some structures, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
Water levels could exceed 8 feet in Atlantic City, New Jersey – the highest level since Sandy in 2012 – and enter a major flooding stage Sunday afternoon. That’s enough to trigger widespread flooding on area roads, with some neighborhoods potentially becoming isolated because of the water, according to NOAA.
The northeast will also bring turbulent seas and generate rough waves that will make swimming dangerous along hundreds of kilometers of coastline.
After the storm moves away from the coast later Monday and Tuesday, the East could benefit from a brief respite from the dreary weather. Then, another unseasonably warm spell is expected to set in by the end of next week.
