Nor’easter Threatens East Coast With Flooding, High Surf

Kenny Formica was home in Surf City, New Jersey, when the surveillance feeds showed water climbing inside the marina he owns. Water inside the building almost never happened. The last time he remembered it was Hurricane Sandy in 2012. That storm caused more than $4 million in damage to his business.

Before this system arrived, workers had secured the dock lines, moved loose equipment out of the way, and parked the marina’s trucks and forklifts at the highest point on the property. Late Friday a station in Surf City recorded a 74 mph gust. Other stations along the Jersey Shore hit 60 mph or more. Formica woke to messages from customers about boats and Jet Skis gone missing. Around 4 a.m. one of them sent a video of a 25-foot boat after it had blown off its lift. “This is like an 8,000-pound boat and, you know, a USD 150,000 boat - just gone,” Formica said.

Coastal flood alerts covered 33 million people from Virginia to Rhode Island as of Friday morning. In the canals the water rose high enough to enter backyards, Jay Boyd said. On Long Island residents kayaked flooded streets. In Ocean City, Maryland, heavy surf eroded beaches and washed away dune fencing. In Norfolk, Virginia, Ellie Hodge watched from her front stoop as passing vehicles left wakes. “We've seen cars get stuck on the road, going up the sidewalks. It's been pretty bad this time around,” Hodge said.

Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, saw days of high winds, high tides, and heavy rain ahead for the northeastern United States. The storm was a nor’easter, a large-scale system that forms near the East Coast when cold air from the north collides with warm, moist Atlantic air, and takes its name from the northeasterly winds that drive it. Such storms are most common from November through March; Oravec said this one might be a little earlier than average for a system of its strength. Its slow movement would keep the coast under strong winds and waves for a prolonged stretch, worsening beach erosion.

Saturday night’s full moon would lift tides an additional 5 to 6 inches, and the higher astronomical tides would elevate the surge. Meteorologist Matthew Belk put peak gusts approaching 60 to 65 mph on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, 50 to 55 mph around Boston, and 35 to 40 mph farther inland. “It's definitely going to be a case of the closer to the coast you are, the more impacts from the storm you're likely to see,” Belk said.

Surfers rode large waves at Rockaway Beach, New York, as the storm approached. Buoys off the Jersey Shore and southern New England reported 16-foot waves. High waves of 6 to 12 feet or more were forecast along the coastline from coastal Delmarva through the Jersey Shore, Long Island, and southeastern coastal New England. Other forecasts put the waves at 10 to 18 feet. Heavy rains, powerful winds, and waves as high as 20 feet, or 6 meters, were also expected. “Anyone who goes in or near the water this weekend is literally gambling with their life,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

In North Carolina a video showed a car nearly swept into the ocean before a tow truck saved it. On Long Island ferry owner Stephanie Sherman paused operations between Patchogue and the barrier island of Fire Island. “It's been a pretty wild storm. But nothing that we haven't experienced in the past. These happen every so often,” Sherman said. The public ferry service connecting Cape Cod with Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard cancelled runs in the strong winds. “It's a nuisance, but you know, we know what to do with this kind of stuff at this point. This is not out of the realm of ordinary,” said Sean Driscoll of the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.

Mayor Brian Kelly said Sea Bright, New Jersey, was bracing for winds up to 50 mph. Flooding could reach 6 feet on some streets. He hoped hundreds of residents in low-lying areas would evacuate, and the town would open its recreation center for them. A voluntary evacuation had been issued in low-lying Manasquan. Mayor Mike Mangan expected a lot of water in the streets for a long time. “It's going to be worse than average... I think this one will be closer to an Irene-scale flooding event. I hope I'm wrong, but that's my gut feeling,” Kelly said.

More than 100,000 homes and businesses lost power at the peak. By Saturday afternoon roughly 88,000 customers in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania were still without electricity. Other counts put the number still out near 70,000 and the peak near 100,000. About 425 flights were cancelled and more than 1,300 delayed nationwide. Between 6 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Boston Logan International Airport saw 39 cancellations and 12 delays; John F. Kennedy International Airport had 22 cancellations. A gust of 56 mph hit JFK. Nantucket Memorial Airport recorded a gust over 60 mph. Rainfall ran a widespread 2 to 4 inches across the Northeast, with totals reaching 6 inches from New Jersey to Boston; other reports put amounts at 1 to 3 inches or 4 to 6 inches by area.

From Saturday night into Sunday the highest tides were expected north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with the potential for widespread road flooding in coastal and bayside communities. The water would return on successive cycles. The National Weather Service warned that coastal flooding, rip currents, strong wind gusts and heavy rain could continue through Monday. On Sunday the system was forecast to meander back and forth just offshore, rain lingering over much of the Northeast, the heavier amounts falling from southern New Jersey to northern Massachusetts. By Monday the weakened storm would still sit on or just off the coast, with showers and gusty winds lingering over New England, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Boston remained in a flood watch until 2 a.m. Tuesday. The highest tides were still ahead.

Ashley Destino of Gloucester, Massachusetts, took her two children, ages 7 and 4, for a beach walk on Friday afternoon before the family settled in. She had Legos and arts and crafts ready. She secured her boat with additional lines. Her husband pulled out the generator.