A nor’easter churned its way up the East Coast on Sunday, with New Jersey declaring a state of emergency and some airports posting delays and cancellations in advance of anticipated coastal flooding and strong winds, as another storm system struck farther south with heavy rain.
“The greatest effects are going to be the coastal flooding potential, especially for areas from northeastern North Carolina northward to much of the New Jersey coast,” said meteorologist Bob Oravec with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
Heavy rain also was forecast for southeast New England and the New York City area, while parts of coastal sections of South Carolina are already experiencing it, according to Oravec.
New Jersey has been under a state of emergency since Saturday night, expected to last into Monday, which allows for the state’s emergency services personnel to be activated as necessary.
Parts of New Jersey are forecast to buckle under moderate to major coastal flooding, inland flash floods, winds hitting 60 mph (97 kph) and up to 5 inches (about 13 centimeters) of rain, with high surf potentially causing beach erosion. Volunteers have been setting up sandbags at beaches to mitigate damage.
The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning and wind advisory for New York City through at least Monday afternoon. Coastal areas of suburban Long Island are expected to experience flooding with up to 3 inches (about 8 centimeters) of rain and damaging winds.
Wind gusts exceeding 30 mph (48 kph) were recorded across the region on Sunday morning, with flight delays and cancellations reported from Washington, D.C to Boston. The storm is set to move out by Monday night.
