An early-season nor’easter is hammering the East Coast this weekend with major coastal flooding, high surf, strong winds, rain and rip currents from North Carolina to New England, including Boston and the New York City tri-state area.
A full moon is happening today as well, only making the coastal flooding situation worse.
Happening now
The nor’easter’s peak fury is lashing the mid-Atlantic and New England as high tide is ongoing.
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Coastal flooding is reaching its peak Saturday with major inundation expected by the National Weather Service from the Jersey shore to North Carolinas northern Outer Banks.
Wind gusts over 50 mph are being clocked from southern Cape Cod to parts of Long Island, coastal and southern New Jersey, the Delaware coast and the Delmarva Peninsula. Those winds have downed trees and knocked out power in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and power outages have been reported as far south as Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula.
Power outages are in the tens of thousands for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
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(LIVE UPDATES: Nor’easter lashes the East Coast)
The map below shows the winds and rain are right now.
(MORE: Nor’easter tracking maps)
Forecast timing
Here’s a general timeline of the storm and its impacts over the next several days.
Saturday: Rain and strong winds will continue from Virginia to Maine, including New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. The heaviest rain is expected from southern New Jersey to northern Massachusetts. High tide coastal flooding from New England to at least parts of the mid-Atlantic coast will occur again in the evening. Sunday: Nor’easter lingers with rain lingering over much of the Northeast, especially in southern New England. Again, heaviest rainfall is expected from southern New Jersey to northern Massachusetts and includes New York City and Boston. Strong winds may linger into early morning from southern New England to the Jersey shore before diminishing in the afternoon. Some coastal flooding may linger during high tides in a few spots. Monday: The weakened nor’easter won’t make too much progress, with rain showers and some gusty winds lingering over New England, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, including New York City. Heavier rainfall is expected for Boston, but this rain shouldn’t be as intense as Saturday and Sunday. 
Potential impacts
Coastal flooding
The map below shows coastal flood warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service. These include Atlantic City, Long Island, the Norfolk metro area, Ocean City (Maryland and New Jersey), downtown Boston, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
The most significant coastal flooding will be from the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina to the Jersey shore, including the Virginia Tidewater, as well as Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. In these areas, water will about 2-4 feet higher than normal at high tide.
(WATCH: Nor’easter waves slam stilt homes on the Outer Banks)
The highest water levels will happen with Saturday’s high tides, boosted by Saturday’s full moon. The moon has a direct impact on the tides, and when we are in a full moon, it makes the high tides even higher.
With some of the highest astronomical tides of the month ongoing, this nor’easter’s coastal flooding is only exacerbated. Lingering modest coastal flooding is also possible with Sunday’s high tides, as well.
Given this repeated battering from high surf, beach erosion is expected along stretches of these beaches, potentially reaching extreme levels for some areas.
At least minor coastal high tide flooding will also develop in parts of New England and last through much of the weekend.
Rain
One bit of good fortune with this storm is that its rainfall will be spread out over several days, rather than arriving in one short deluge.
While we expect the most rain to fall from southern New England to New Jersey, those rainfall totals in the map below will be stretched out through Monday.
That means any rainfall flooding should be mainly local in nature in some of the traditional urban trouble spots.
That rainfall could also add to any coastal flooding at high tide through Sunday.
Winds
High wind warnings are in effect for parts of southeast New England, including Boston and Providence, and also along coasts of Delaware and New Jersey. In these areas, gusts up to 60 mph are possible through early Sunday morning.
In these areas, tree damage and power outages are most likely. Ground soaked from the nor’easter’s rain, as well as trees still with leaves will only enhance this threat of tree damage and outages.
Otherwise, occasional gusts from 40 to 50 mph are possible from North Carolina’s Outer Banks to other parts of coastal New England. Some sporadic power outages and tree limb damage are also possible in these areas.
Travel impact
Here are some tips to keep in mind if you plan to travel to the Northeast into this weekend:
Northeast major-hub airports: Delays are likely at Boston-Logan and at NYC’s three major airports through the weekend.Roads: Some downed trees or tree limbs and localized flash flooding are possible in southeast and coastal New England, the New York City metro and New Jersey. Avoid coastal areas from northern North Carolina to southeast New England around any high tides into the weekend.
(MORE: Nor’easter impacts on Major League Baseball’s weekend)
Recap
Some gusts topped 40 mph along the coast from southern Massachusetts down to the Virginia Tidewater Wednesday.
And those persistent winds are piled up water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast.
Minor to moderate coastal flooding was reported from parts of the Jersey Shore to southeast Virginia during Wednesday’s morning and evening high tides.
Flooding was reported Wednesday morning in downtown Norfolk, Smithfield and Suffolk, Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.
Widespread gusts of 30-45 mph were ongoing as of Thursday evening, with peak gusts over 45 mph reported along the coast of North Carolina.
Those persistent winds were piling up water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast. Water levels reached major flood stage during high tide Thursday evening.
A 16-mile stretch of the North Carolina Highway 12 on the Outer Banks is closed in both directions due to ocean overwash. Specifically, the road is closed from Sea Oats Drive to Oregon Inlet Road in Dare County.
Rising waters forced the cancellation of the Oceans Calling festival in Maryland.
What is a nor’easter?
You might think it is too early for a nor’easter, but the criteria for a nor’easter are met more often than you would think.
A nor’easter simply means that the winds blow into an area from the northeast. For the Northeast, that usually means an area of low pressure is just off the coast, which brings the winds in this direction.
(More: What is a nor’easter?)
Most people usually think of snow and ice with nor’easters and that is because nor’easters do tend to occur more in the late fall and winter.
The most notable nor’easters tend to bring heavy snow because these lows move up along the Gulf Stream, tapping into the warm ocean. This warm, moist air then clashes with the cold air over the Northeast to create heavy snowfall. Fortunately, this one is occurring way earlier, so it is all rain this time.