Nor'easter Batters East Coast, Flooding Streets and Causing Power Outages
Millions are in the storm's path as high winds, torrential rain, and surging seas inundate communities from New Jersey to Rhode Island.
A powerful nor'easter slammed into the U.S. East Coast on Friday night, bringing torrential rain and 60 mph gusts that transformed streets into rivers and inundated coastal communities. More than 40 million Americans are in the storm's path, with early impacts unfolding after dark from New Jersey to Maryland and causing raging surf in Rhode Island.
Thousands of customers lost power, and hundreds of flights were canceled as the sprawling storm began battering the coastline. Forecasters warned that the worst conditions were yet to come.
A State of Emergency has been declared for New York City, coastal areas of New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester County in New York. In Narragansett, Rhode Island, dramatic footage showed seawater surging over seawalls and onto Ocean Drive, while pounding surf reached parking lots.
Long Beach Island in New Jersey experienced streets disappearing beneath floodwaters as the Atlantic surged inland. In Ocean City, Maryland, seawater swamped entire streets on Friday night. Video showed water surrounding homes and roads, with mailboxes peeking above the rising waterline.
The National Weather Service warned that particularly dangerous flooding could strike parts of the Mid-Atlantic coastline, with New Jersey and Delaware facing significant threats. In Manasquan, New Jersey, water poured onto roads as darkness fell, and officials issued a voluntary evacuation for some low-lying neighborhoods. Sea Bright, another vulnerable New Jersey beach community, prepared for flooding that could leave some streets submerged.
Forecasters warned that winds could become ferocious farther north, with peak gusts expected to reach between 60 and 65 mph across Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. Boston could see gusts of 50 to 55 mph, with inland communities experiencing winds of 35 to 40 mph.
Travel was significantly disrupted, with more than 200 flights canceled on Friday involving airports in Boston, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and New York, and further cancellations scheduled for Saturday. Ferry services connecting Cape Cod with Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as Rhode Island ferries serving Block Island, also suffered widespread cancellations due to strong winds.
The storm also impacted weekend entertainment and sporting schedules. The Boston Red Sox rearranged their series against the Chicago Cubs, and Ed Sheeran canceled high-profile concerts in Foxborough, Massachusetts, due to the dangerous conditions.
Residents in coastal towns were preparing for the storm's full impact. In Gloucester, Massachusetts, some families visited the beach in the hours before the storm's arrival, knowing they would be indoors for the weekend, while also securing boats and preparing generators.