New Jersey shore mayors warn of Irene-scale flooding
A nor’easter swept into the northeastern United States on Saturday, knocking out electricity for more than 70,000 customers and prompting evacuations along the New Jersey shore as coastal towns braced for what local officials warned could be flooding comparable to 2011’s Hurricane Irene.
The storm’s reach was broad. Tens of millions of people were in the path of the system as it moved through the region with strong winds and rain. By midday Saturday, more than 70,000 customers were already without electricity across the northeast — an early measure of the storm’s impact.
The National Weather Service issued warnings of dangerous flooding along the mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware. Forecasters cautioned that gale-force winds could topple trees and power lines.
In Sea Bright, a small New Jersey beach community, Mayor Brian Kelly said the borough was preparing for winds up to 50 mph and flooding that could reach 6 feet on some streets. Kelly said officials expected the flooding to begin Saturday and worsen by midday.
“It’s going to be worse than average,” Kelly said. “We do have probably one or two flooding events a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I think this one will be closer to an Irene-scale flooding event.”
He added: “I hope I’m wrong, but that’s my gut feeling.”
Kelly said the town hoped hundreds of residents in low-lying areas would consider evacuating. The town said it would open its recreation center for evacuees.
About 34 miles up the coast in Manasquan, where some roads were already flooding, Mayor Mike Mangan said he expected “a lot of water in the streets for a long time.” A voluntary evacuation had been issued earlier in some low-lying areas of the community.
In the coastal borough of Surf City, water with waves rippling along its surface flooded the streets, inundating some homes.
The wind threat was most acute closer to the coast. Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said peak wind gusts could approach 60 to 65 mph on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket on Friday night and Saturday. Gusts around Boston were forecast at 50 to 55 mph, with winds farther inland reaching 35 to 40 mph.
“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.
Belk noted that nor’easters were not unusual as New England moved into fall, but said one concern this early in the season was that leaves still remained on trees, creating more wind resistance and increasing the risk of downed limbs — which in turn could cause more power outages and leave debris in roads.
Along the Atlantic coasts of New Jersey and Delaware, wind gusts could reach 60 mph, the Weather Service said. In southeastern Connecticut and eastern Long Island, New York, gusts could be nearly as strong, potentially downing tree limbs and power lines.
The storm disrupted air travel, concerts and Major League Baseball. More than 200 flights to and from Boston, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and New York had been canceled on Friday, with additional cancellations already in place for Saturday. Several airlines offered to waive change or cancellation fees for east coast flights through the weekend.
The Boston Red Sox moved their Sunday afternoon game against the Chicago Cubs to Friday, creating a split doubleheader. Ed Sheeran canceled his Friday and Saturday shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, because of the storm.