New Yorkers may wake up to substantial floods, downed power lines and damaged trees Sunday — with the worst of this weekend’s nor’easter expected to take place late Saturday and continuing through the morning.
“Mark my words, much more is coming,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a press conference Saturday, after a first wave of rains drenched coastal areas — leaving some spots in and around the city with knee-deep or car-deep waters, but much of the city further inland relatively calm.
New Yorkers could see up to an inch an hour of rain, according to the city’s emergency management department. Officials have strongly urged against travel until the storm passes. The main threat ahead could be flooding. National Weather Service advisories cautioned some areas along waterfronts and the shoreline could see 1 to 2 feet of “inundation above ground level,” with the highest levels expected around Sunday morning high tides. Those take place around 9 a.m.
“ Don’t take this lightly. Don’t tempt Mother Nature,” Hochul said.
The NYPD said a 56 year-old man was struck and killed by a falling tree in East New York Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately clear if the tree fell because of the day’s fierce wind gusts — some above 55 mph — but the Parks Department said it had been responding to hundreds of calls of fallen trees since Friday, and expected to be cleaning up for days to come.
“I don’t think we’re gonna shake this storm off until Monday,” said Bill Goodman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Hochul declared a state of emergency this weekend for New York City and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also declared a state of emergency for eight counties, mostly along the Jersey Shore.
Dominic Ramunni, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storm will linger through Sunday. Monday will be dreary – overcast with some light rain or mist – followed by sunnier skies and warmer temperatures returning Tuesday.
Key resources in the storm
News updates and alerts: Tune in to WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820, use the WNYC app and check back on Gothamist for regular updates.
Evacuation zones: These NYC areas may be evacuated in storms. The city advises you to have a plan for where to go, and plan for what you’ll do if you lose power.Flooding: Monitor the National Weather Service’s flooding observations and forecasts.Emergency updates: In New York City, text NOTIFYNYC to 692-692 for citywide emergency updates in English; NOTIFYNYCESP for Spanish; or NOTIFYNYCFRE for French. Alerts are also on the NotifyNYC app, and X.Department of Sanitation: See alerts and advisories for service changes and operations updates.Transit services: Alerts from the MTA, Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and Amtrak.Road conditions: Traffic maps are at 511NY.org and 511NJ.org.Power outages: Check maps from Con Edison for New York City and Westchester, PSEG in Long Island, Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. in the Mid-Hudson Valley, and Orange and Rockland Utilities. In New Jersey, maps are available from JCP&L, PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric.
“Going into tonight, we’re gonna be dealing with the thick of it,” he said Saturday evening. “Periods of rain are gonna return across the metro, could fall moderate to heavy at times into the overnight period, and winds will also be peaking. As we go into Sunday, really talking about just kind of a wet and windy day.”
Key things to know as the storm continues:
Flooding risks
New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell told WNYC Saturday afternoon there had already been coastal flooding in the Rockaways, Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach, the North Shore of Staten Island, parts of southern Brooklyn and City Island. Parts of the Jersey Shore were slammed with deep floods, according to social media and local news reports. Several videos showed waters rising above cars in a hotel parking lot in Englewood in Bergen County, as well.
One video captured people kayaking near a train station in Howard Beach.
Farrell said she expected the flooding to wax and wane with the tides, and to be exacerbated by the full moon. If the rain and winds knock a lot of leaves from trees, catch basins could become full and also cause some inland flooding, she said.
The high tide Sunday could be especially problematic along Long Island, including the South Shore and toward Riverhead, Goodman said — though anywhere along the shoreline could see moderate to major flooding.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged people living in basement apartments to be ready to find higher ground if flooding occurred. In particularly large storms, the city has several designated evacuation zones — areas residents may be asked to leave quickly. The city’s map of the zones also includes pet-friendly evacuation shelters.
Power outages
Tens of thousands of people across the region were without power for at least some of Saturday amid the high wind gusts. Officials warn both the wind and the outages may be worse before the storm is over.
Power outages were affecting more than 12,900 customers on Long Island as of Saturday evening, according to PSEG. About 7,100 Jersey Central Power & Light customers, and 500 PSE&G customers in New Jersey lacked power as well — numbers that had largely been whittling down over the course of the day. And in New York City, by early Saturday evening, Farrell said there were about 500 customers affected by outages.
Farrell said residents should absolutely avoid downed power lines, and if they see any sparking, to call 911.
Two people watch as a vehicle is submerged in floodwaters in a parking lot along the Hudson River during a nor’easter storm in Edgewater.
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Transit and travel
The NYPD said there was a “soft ban” on empty and tandem tractor trailers until further notices. Mayor Zohran Mamdani had issued a travel advisory through Sunday urging drivers to stay off the road if possible.
The MTA suspended the Long Island Rail Road’s Long Beach Branch due to flooding Saturday. Other transit services didn’t see major impacts from the storm Saturday, but warned interruptions were possible because of the weather. NJ Transit was tentatively operating on a regular weekend schedule.
Flightaware.com’s “Misery Map” showed most New York City-area flights on time Saturday, but airports urged fliers to check in with their airlines before coming to the airport.
What else to watch for
The storm has already upended weekend plans across the region. The Global Citizen Festival in Central Park and the All Things Go NYC Music Festival at Forest Hills Stadium were both canceled heading into the weekend. The Yankees also moved Saturday’s game against the Orioles to a Friday doubleheader.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning on Saturday, urging New York consumers to be on the lookout for any price gouging during a storm.
“New Yorkers should never have to face unfair price hikes to stay safe during a storm,” James said in a statement.