Nor'easter floods Northeast coast, cancels flights and events

Coastal flood warnings extend from New Jersey to Massachusetts

A nor’easter swept into the Northeastern Atlantic coast on Saturday, bringing strong winds, heavy rains, flooding, power outages and canceled flights from Atlantic City to Boston. The New York Times reported that especially high tides mixed with powerful winds caused flooding on the Jersey Shore and in coastal areas of New York City.

The National Weather Service issued coastal flood warnings effective through Sunday evening for northeast New Jersey, southeast New York and the Massachusetts coast, including Cape Cod and Nantucket, with the worst flooding occurring in the two hours before and after high tide. Forecasters had predicted 2 to 6 inches of rain across the East Coast on Saturday. The highest Saturday tides were forecast at midnight in Boston; 9 p.m. in southern Manhattan; 11:30 p.m. and midnight in Kings Point at Little Neck Bay on Long Island; and 8 p.m. in Atlantic City, N.J.

The storm’s center was forecast to track north while staying offshore through late Saturday evening, then turn west toward the New Jersey coast on Sunday, where it was expected to remain through Monday before moving northeast, the NWS said.

The Hudson River flooded in Edgewater, N.J., triggering an evacuation at a beachside hotel. Flooded streets were reported in Hamilton Beach near Kennedy Airport. The Borough of Sea Bright, N.J., said Ocean Avenue was closed in all directions, though CNN reported a few cars could still be seen on the flooded road.

Nassau County, N.Y., Executive Bruce Blakeman said during a Saturday afternoon press conference that the county was in a weather lull. “Do not take this as what you can predict for later today and tomorrow,” CNN reported Blakeman said. “What happens is there is a lull in the weather and then the storm kicks up very quickly.” “Don’t take it that you can go out and go about your normal activities again. Assume the worst. You don’t want to get stuck in water.”

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine urged Long Island residents to remain vigilant Saturday even if the rain lightened, cautioning that it would not mean the storm was leaving. “There will be periods where you will have drizzle and periods where you will have heavy rain,” he said.

More than 250 flights were canceled at Boston’s Logan International Airport, according to FlightAware. Hundreds of additional flights were delayed at the major airports serving New York City, though cancellations there were limited to a few.

A wide slate of events was called off across the New York–New Jersey area. An AC/DC concert was rescheduled for Oct. 2; the All Things Go music festival was scheduled to run Friday through Sunday in New York City; the Global Citizen Festival set for Saturday in Central Park was canceled; Saturday’s Yankees-Orioles game at Yankee Stadium was played Friday evening as part of a doubleheader; CBGB: The Festival scheduled for Saturday in Brooklyn was canceled; an Ironman triathlon set for Saturday at Jones Beach, N.Y., was canceled; horse racing at Belmont Park for the weekend was canceled; and the New York Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., was closed for the weekend.

In Philadelphia, the mid-autumn festival in Chinatown was moved to the following weekend. Hackettstown, N.J.’s Oktoberfest was canceled, as was the “Monsters on the Beach” monster truck event in Wildwood, N.J.