Tens of millions of people from the mid-Atlantic through the coast of Maine are facing a powerful and uncommon September nor’easter that is bringing high winds, heavy rain, and coastal flooding this weekend.
A slow-moving, powerful storm crept along the U.S. Northeast coast on Saturday, delivering heavy rain and large waves that created hazardous conditions, along with high winds that led to power outages. The nor’easter was forecast to impact New England and the mid-Atlantic area throughout the weekend, placing tens of millions of people in its path. At one point, power was knocked out to about 100,000 customers in the region, while according to the PowerOutage.com map, nearly 80,000 people across Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey were without electricity as of Saturday evening.
The forecast showed no immediate reprieve. There will be a lot of high winds, a lot of high tides and heavy rain possibility over the next few days for the northeastern U.S.,
said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. Francis Tarasiewicz, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Massachusetts, noted that coastal wind gusts could hit 60 miles per hour this weekend. He said this nor’easter will last longer than usual and has arrived earlier than the typical storm season, which runs from October through May.
The National Weather Service stated that the highest tides were likely to occur from Saturday night into Sunday north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, which could cause widespread road flooding in bayside and coastal communities. Anyone who goes in or near the water this weekend is literally gambling with their life,
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. States of emergency were declared by New York and New Jersey in various counties across both states, including New York City.
High Waters Overtake Roads and Businesses
On Saturday morning, Talia Manno opened her door to find waves reaching halfway up the front steps of her home in Atlantic City, N.J. It got up to my fifth step,
Manno said. I was really freaking out.
Manno, a lifelong resident, said the last time water came that high was during Hurricane Sandy. Even if you live here and you see high tide and flooding, that was really scary and it happened so fast,
she said.
In Long Island, New York, some people kayaked down flooded streets, and in New York City, people were seen kayaking in the streets. Social media videos posted Saturday depicted massive waves hitting the coast and streets in New Jersey inundated with water.
In the coastal New Jersey borough of Surf City, Kenny Formica watched surveillance cameras from home that showed water rising inside his marina. Formica said water getting inside the building is rare.
According to the New York City Police Department, a 56-year-old man was struck and killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn, New York, marking the storm’s first confirmed fatality. The New York City Housing Authority later confirmed he was an employee of the agency.
Between 1 and 3 inches of rain are expected from eastern New Jersey into the Philadelphia region, while 3 to 5 inches of rain could fall in southern New England and parts of Long Island. The nor’easter is intensifying rapidly and is expected to turn sharply back toward the New Jersey coast between Saturday night and Sunday. It was also noted that the storm is expected to continue hitting Eastern Massachusetts, New York City, and the Jersey Shore into Sunday, and it may meander or stall nearby through Monday.
Nantucket Weddings Press On
A group of courageous couples intend to proceed with their wedding plans despite the massive nor’easter currently battering the Northeast. According to the Nantucket Current on X, at least 34 weddings are scheduled for this weekend on Massachusetts’ Nantucket island. Even as the cyclone storm brings potentially life-threatening conditions to southeastern Massachusetts, the plans appear to remain in place.
As rainfall intensified around 7.30pm Friday, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a high surf advisory and a high wind warning for Nantucket. According to the NWS, a coastal flood warning for the island also remains in effect through Monday night.
Boston couple Maggie Lynch, 29, and Paul Flanagan, 28, whose wedding with 165 guests is scheduled for Saturday, described the weather forecast as the ‘worst-case scenario.’ ‘When we picked Nantucket, we joked that as long as this exact thing didn’t happen, we’d be fine, and then, of course, it did,’ Lynch told MassLive. She explained that Nantucket, a wedding hotspot in the fall, had an ‘undeniable magic.’ Nantucket is a particularly popular wedding destination for the fall months, though that was suddenly threatened this year by the massive storm.
Flanagan stated that the couple’s only real worry had been a ‘storm big enough to stop people from getting to the island,’ which appeared to be the case as the nor’easter arrived. Wedding planner Karina Crockett said the couple started voicing their concerns on Monday.
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