The nor’easter kept pounding the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, following its weekend arrival that brought heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous waves to several states along its path. In coastal areas of New York and New Jersey, the storm caused flooding so severe that residents were spotted moving through their neighborhoods by kayak and canoe, passing parked cars that were partly or nearly covered by water. Coastal flood warnings stayed in place across long stretches of shoreline, with weather experts cautioning that the most severe effects of the storm could still hit some communities.
The Death in Brooklyn
A nor’easter has already claimed at least one life in Brooklyn, New York, where authorities said 56-year-old New York City Housing Department employee Leighton Brown was struck and killed by a falling tree. A swimmer who had been missing on Saturday afternoon was later found, according to “alive and well,” state police. Police believe the man vanished after being spotted swimming at a Fire Island beach, but he reached out to law enforcement himself after seeing reports about the search for him on television.
Flooding Across New Jersey
Parts of New Jersey saw flooding, with reports coming from Long Beach Island, Surf City and Rumson. Carolyn Cashion witnessed a fox swimming through floodwaters in Rumson.
Power Outages in the Northeast
Sunday morning saw tens of thousands of homes without electricity across the Northeast, with more than 40,000 losing power in New York and roughly 30,000 in Connecticut, per PowerOutage.us. By Sunday evening, more than half of those outages had been fixed.
States of Emergency Declared
Both governors have put their states into a state of emergency. New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, and New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, have done so for particular regions that have already felt the nor’easter’s worst and are expected to keep feeling its worst through the rest of this week, until it finally dies down.
Forecast Warnings
The National Weather Service’s newest outlook warns that the nor’easter will continue dropping rain across mid-Atlantic and northeastern states through Monday night, raising the risk of further flooding. Dangerous surf, with rip currents included, is possible as far south as the Carolinas for beachgoers, and wind gusts up to 50 mph are projected to strike a stretch of the tristate area running from New Jersey to Long Island, per the forecast.
The weather service warned that gusting winds could bring down further power lines and bring down more trees, while heavy rain could produce flooding in the inland parts of New Jersey and as far north as New England. The precipitation would mainly cause localized flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams and narrow canyons at the highest risk of being swamped.
Sports Sidelined
Sunday’s scheduled contest between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx was called off because of bad weather. The New York Giants were playing the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey during a week 3 NFL fixture, and there the wind was so strong that it pushed several portable toilets across the parking lot.
The Tide and the Shipwreck
As the nor’easter approached the eastern seaboard, the weather service warned residents to prepare for significant coastal damage. Its advisory stated that “repeated rounds of flooding” were anticipated throughout the weekend, with the worst of it coming at high tide.
“Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads under water and impacts to homes and businesses,” the advisory read.
On Saturday, the sea exposed pieces of a sunken vessel along the southern coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Nantucket Current said the wreck appears to be part of a 19th-century wooden ship that met its end close to Miacomet Beach in 1884.
On Saturday, video shot near the coast in the town of Marshfield captured sea foam surrounding homes along the waterfront.
Sunday will see another high tide cycle coincide with the storm, according to the weather service. The agency warned that this tide could bring flooding dangers to coastal New York, including areas around Jamaica Bay, which sit close to the city’s Brooklyn and Queens boroughs, and those near lower New York Harbor. It also said New Jersey and Delaware could see moderate tidal flooding, which should ease as the nor’easter is expected to weaken by then.
Damage Reports From the Weekend
The weather service reported dozens of flooding incidents along rivers, creeks, streams and coastlines, plus damaging wind events, stretching from North Carolina to New York between Friday and Saturday. By Saturday, the strongest wind gusts had been recorded in Surf City, New Jersey, and Montauk Point, New York, where they respectively reached 74 and 81 mph.
This strong storm’s full toll is not yet complete, but the pattern is set. A nor’easter delivers wave after wave of flooding, with the high tides adding to the peril.
Key Facts
- At least one death in Brooklyn, New York, where Leighton Brown was fatally hit by a falling tree
- More than 40,000 customers without power in New York, around 30,000 in Connecticut
- Wind gusts approaching 74 mph in Surf City, New Jersey, and 81 mph in Montauk Point, New York
- Surf City and Montauk Point wind gusts mirroring those of a low-grade hurricane
- More than half of power outages restored by Sunday night
- States of emergency declared in New York and New Jersey
A person has already died from the storm, and it has cut off electricity for tens of thousands of people, forcing residents to move through streets turned into rivers using small boats. A fox was seen swimming in the floodwaters of Rumson by Carolyn Cashion, a smaller detail than the loss of life but no less strange for being caught in a human disaster, paddling through water that should not exist. Both images are unpleasant, but both belong to the same scene.
See the video the story is built around at CBS News.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.