[ad_1]
A major coastal storm will bring excessive rain and damaging wind gusts over 50 miles per hour to New York City and nearby areas late Tuesday into Wednesday, possibly causing moderate to major flooding in the region’s waterways overnight.
Here are three things to know about the storm:
-
Rain will begin moving in during the early afternoon.
-
The heaviest rain will start as early as 4 p.m.
-
The strongest winds are expected along the coast.
Local officials are getting ready.
The storm will not bring snow to New York City, where temperatures are expected to remain above freezing. And most areas that received snow a few days ago will see it melt as this warmer, more potent storm moves through.
The type of weather pattern at play here has historically produced flooding and flash flooding concerns in the region, forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center wrote Tuesday morning. Rain falling on the lingering snow from last weekend’s winter storm would exacerbate the risk of flood concerns in those same areas. Any areas downstream within river basins are also at risk of flooding.
Local authorities are getting ready. In New York, the State Department of Transportation banned empty trucks and trailers from certain routes because of wind. New York City was sending teams to clear out clogged drains, and urged residents to do the same. Power companies were stagging crews to respond to power outages after the storm hits.
“The risk is significant,” Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said in a statement, warning people to prepare for flooding.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said a state of emergency would be in effect from 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“This storm will exacerbate the effects of the inclement conditions we experienced in December and this past weekend,” he said.
Governor Hochul suggested that people who live in flood-prone areas — “and much of our state is in flood zones,” she added — have a go bag prepared with items in case they need to be evacuated.
Forecasters are calling it a ‘high-impact event.’
By early Tuesday afternoon, rain is expected to move into the region, spreading over the entire metro area by mid to late afternoon, forecasters with the National Weather Service for New York City said Tuesday morning.
Temperatures will slowly warm, and the winds will become increasingly gusty, especially by late afternoon. The combination of strong winds and possible flooding led forecasters to label the storm a “high-impact event.”
The strongest winds are expected along the coast. A high wind warning was in effect for New York City, Long Island and coastal Connecticut from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday. (These warnings are issued for potential winds of 40 m.p.h. or faster that last at least one hour, or if the wind will gust to at least 58 m.p.h.)
Some areas may even see gusts over 70 m.p.h., and forecasters warned people to avoid being outside. These damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines, potentially causing widespread power outages.
Excessive rain will most likely create scattered areas of flash flooding, especially Tuesday evening. Widespread, moderate-to-major river flooding is also a threat overnight and into Wednesday morning. Coastal flooding for much of Long Island and the southeast Connecticut coast is also likely with the Wednesday morning high tide.
What comes next?
The storm system will move northeast of the New York region on Wednesday, with a few showers during the day and then dry conditions later on. The gusty winds will continue Wednesday but slowly subside toward the end of the week when the next storm system arrives.
That storm, beginning Friday and lasting into Saturday, is expected to be similar, with wet and extremely windy conditions. After it passes, the colder weather will return, with a chance of a more winterlike storm early next week, though it’s too early to know many details about that storm.
[ad_2]
Source link
