Severe Nor’easter Batters US Eastern Seaboard, Triggering Widespread Flooding and Power Disruptions

A relentless nor’easter brings renewed flooding to low-lying regions across New Jersey and New York City, leaving tens of thousands without electricity as the system pushes into New England.

Published On 27 Sep 202627 Sep 2026

A severe coastal storm is battering the northeastern United States for a second consecutive day, resulting in widespread flooding in vulnerable areas and extensive power outages affecting tens of thousands of residents.

On Sunday, tidal surges overwhelmed low-lying communities in New Jersey, while intense winds felled trees across New York’s Long Island, causing structural damage and severing utility lines.

In New York City, the Howard Beach neighborhood in Queens experienced severe street flooding.

The sluggish storm system, which claimed the life of a New York City housing authority employee on Saturday when a tree collapsed, is anticipated to persist through Sunday, bringing heavy rainfall, powerful winds, and hazardous surf extending into New England.

Unprecedented rainfall exceeding 10 centimeters (4 inches) since Friday in certain areas of New Jersey, coupled with an elevated ocean, has produced flooding levels not witnessed in nearly a decade in regions accustomed to high water, according to local residents.

Identified as a nor’easter, this system evokes memories of Hurricane Sandy, which inflicted over $60 billion in damage across the eastern United States in 2012. Although the current storm’s impact is significantly less severe, it may represent the initial event of multiple systems along the East Coast this autumn, driven by an El Nino climate pattern disrupting this year’s weather.

Visuals of massive waves crashing against seawalls and shorelines have heightened fears regarding coastal erosion.

According to PowerOutage.us, over 100,000 customers experienced power outages across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Sunday. The most extensive disruptions occurred in coastal counties stretching from New Jersey to Connecticut.

Numerous flights across the region faced cancellations and delays. By late Sunday morning, Boston Logan International airport had canceled over 250 flights as wind gusts reached 64 kilometers per hour (40 mph), according to the Massachusetts Port Authority.

The heaviest remaining precipitation was forecast for Sunday, moving from northern New Jersey into southern New England.

Although the storm is gradually diminishing, tidal flooding is expected to continue through Sunday night’s high-tide cycles, stated Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Source link