A powerful nor'easter has brought torrential rain, high winds, and significant flooding to the Northeast United States, affecting areas from Delaware up to Massachusetts. Over the last 24 hours, parts of the Jersey Shore and southeastern New England have received 2 to 3 or more inches of rain, with an additional 2 to 4 inches expected through Monday for coastal New Jersey into New England, and localized totals potentially reaching 5 to 7 inches in southern New England. This heavy rainfall has led to a level 2 of 4 "slight risk" of flash flooding from New York City to Boston, with flood watches issued for eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island until Monday night.
The storm has caused widespread disruption, with coastal areas from Virginia to Long Island, New York, experiencing moderate flooding, and southern New England seeing minor coastal flooding during high tides. Wind advisories are in effect until Sunday evening for gusts up to 50 mph from the Delmarva Peninsula to central Massachusetts, including major cities like Dover, Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford, and Worcester. High wind warnings for the Jersey Shore and parts of Connecticut indicate winds could exceed 50 mph, threatening to down trees and power lines. As of Saturday evening, tens of thousands of customers across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania were without power, with over 60,000 reported by poweroutage.com.
Travel has been significantly impacted, with hundreds of flights canceled, including 253 at Boston's Logan Airport, and thousands more delayed. Major airlines like JetBlue, United, and American have issued travel alerts allowing fee-free flight changes. Ferry services on Cape Cod and in Rhode Island have been disrupted, and Amtrak canceled several trains. Beyond travel, the storm has forced the cancellation of major events, such as the Global Citizen and All Things Go festivals in New York, the Oceans Calling festival in Maryland, and Ed Sheeran's concerts near Boston. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul warned of waves as tall as 20 feet in some areas, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel due to strong wind gusts and potential downed power lines. Tragically, a 56-year-old man in Brooklyn was killed when a tree fell on him due to the strong winds. The nor'easter is expected to begin weakening and moving offshore by Sunday night, gradually easing rain and winds, and will be out of the region by late Monday evening.
