An early-season nor’easter pounded the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic all weekend, and the slow-moving storm will impact the East Coast for an additional day Monday.
Coastal flooding, high waves and gusty winds may continue, although conditions will improve early in the week.
The full moon on Saturday worsened the coastal flooding situation as tides were higher. For a complete tracker with all the maps you need to stay informed about this storm, click here.
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The threat of coastal flooding has been reduced, but remains expected with moderate flooding from the mid-Atlantic to New England. Bands of moderate to heavy rain persist across parts of New England.
If you would like to learn more about some of the nor’easter events that took place on Sunday, click the link below.
(LIVE UPDATES RECAP: Deadly Northeast Floods Millions)
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The map below shows current winds and rain.
Forecast schedule
Here is a general timeline of the storm and its impacts over the next few days. Boston is in the area of greatest flooding concern and is now under a flood watch until Monday evening. A detailed schedule breakdown for the city and the entire region is below:
- From Sunday evening to Monday morning: The northeast is expected to meander just offshore. Rain is expected to persist across much of the Northeast, including southern New England. The strongest winds blow, although some coastal flooding may occur during high tides.
- Monday: The weakened Northeast will continue to hold just on or just off the coast, with rain showers and some winds lingering over New England, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, including New York City. More precipitation is expected in Boston, but it is not expected to be as intense as Saturday and Sunday.
Potential impacts
Coastal flooding
The map below shows coastal flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service. The majority have been allowed to expire, but a few remain for Delaware and New Jersey.
(WATCH: Nor’Easter waves slam stilt houses on the Outer Banks)
Given these repeated hits from high waves, beach erosion is expected on parts of these beaches, potentially reaching extreme levels in some areas.
(MORE: Coastal Flood Safety)
At least minor coastal flooding during high tide will continue in parts of New England through Monday.
Rain
Much of the precipitation begins to decrease. You can see from the map below that only 1 to 3 inches of additional rain is expected. However, many of these areas are already saturated, so it won’t take much more to trigger flash flooding.
Winds
The strongest wind is behind us and all strong wind warnings have expired. However, some strong wind gusts are still possible.
Sodden ground from northeastern rains, along with leaves on trees, will increase the risk of tree damage and power outages.
Impact on travel
Here are some tips to keep in mind if you plan to travel in or to the Northeast through Monday:
- Major Northeast Airports: Delays continue Sunday at Boston-Logan and New York’s three main airports.
- Roads: Downed trees or tree limbs and localized flash flooding are possible in southeastern and coastal New England, metro New York, and New Jersey. The I-95 corridor will be slippery, so take precautions and expect significant road delays. Avoid coastal areas from northern North Carolina to southeastern New England around high tides through Monday.
(MORE: Travel tracking)
(MORE: Nor’easter impacts Major League Baseball weekend)
To summarize
Some gusts exceeded 40 mph along the coast from southern Massachusetts to the Virginia Tidewater on Wednesday as the storm system began to develop in its early stages.
And those persistent winds have been piling up water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast.
Minor to moderate coastal flooding was reported in parts of the Jersey Shore through southeastern Virginia during Wednesday’s morning and evening high tides.
Flooding was reported Wednesday morning in downtown Norfolk, Smithfield and Suffolk, Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.
Widespread gusts of 30 to 45 mph were underway Thursday evening, with peak gusts of more than 45 mph reported along the North Carolina coast.
These persistent winds accumulated water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast. Water levels reached major flood stage at high tide on Thursday evening.
A 16-mile stretch of North Carolina Highway 12 on the Outer Banks is closed in both directions Thursday due to ocean overflow. Specifically, the road is closed from Sea Oats Drive to Oregon Inlet Road in Dare County.
Rising waters forced the cancellation of the Oceans Calling Festival in Maryland on Thursday.
Saturday brought a 74 mph wind gust to Surf City, New Jersey. Another notable wind gust of 81 mph was reported in Montauk Point, New York. Wind gusts over 50 mph were recorded across the Northeast on Saturday, including from southern Cape Cod to parts of Long Island, coastal and southern New Jersey, coastal Delaware and the Delmarva Peninsula, and a few weather stations even recorded gusts over 60 mph, including one at Memorial Airport in Nantucket.
New York’s JFK Airport reported a gust of 90 km/h. These winds pushed water into many roads in the New York metropolitan area and caused significant travel delays. As of Saturday afternoon, 25 river gauges reached major flood stage at high tide.
The highest water levels occurred with Saturday’s high tides, boosted by Saturday’s full moon. The moon has a direct impact on tides, and during a full moon it makes high tides even higher.
With some of the highest astronomical tides of the month, coastal flooding in the North East is only being exacerbated.
Widespread precipitation totals for this event were 2 to 5 inches, with the highest total being 6.73 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
What is a nor’easter?
You may think it’s too early for a nor’easter, but the criteria for a nor’easter are met more often than you think.
A nor’easter simply means that the winds are blowing in an area coming from the northeast. For the Northeast, this usually means an area of low pressure is just off the coast, bringing winds in that direction.
(MORE: What is a nor’easter?)
Most people usually think of snow and ice with nor’easters because nor’easters tend to occur more in late fall and winter.
The most notable northeast winds tend to bring heavy snowfall, as these lows move up along the Gulf Stream, tapping into the warm ocean. This warm, moist air then conflicts with cold air from the northeast to create heavy snowfall. Fortunately, this one happens much earlier, so it rains this time.
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