Powerful storm pummels US Northeast

Heavy rain and strong winds battered the northeastern United States on Saturday as an unusually powerful autumn storm intensified, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. New York, Boston and Philadelphia were all in the firing line of the "Nor'easter" -- so labeled for its northeasterly winds -- as authorities warned of potential major flooding and road closures. "This storm is expected to bring major coastal flooding to the Mid-Atlantic Coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend," the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast. "Prepare immediately for...

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Heavy rain and strong winds battered the
northeastern United States on Saturday as an unusually powerful autumn storm
intensified, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights and leaving tens
of thousands of people without power.

New York, Boston and Philadelphia were all in the firing line of the
“Nor’easter” — so labeled for its northeasterly winds — as authorities
warned of potential major flooding and road closures.

“This storm is expected to bring major coastal flooding to the Mid-Atlantic
Coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend,” the National
Weather Service said in its latest forecast.

“Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the
shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”

More than 75,000 customers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and
Massachusetts were without power as of 10:00 am (1400 GMT) Saturday,
according to the monitoring tool poweroutage.com.

New York state Governor Kathy Hochul said the storm was bearing down Saturday
on coastal areas of New York City and Long Island.

“The rain is underway… Mark my words. Much more is coming,” Hochul said in
a press briefing, with up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain expected on
Long Island over the next few days.

“We expect waves as tall as 20 feet in some areas.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned residents of the country’s most
populated city about strong wind gusts and the possibility of downed power
lines, saying “Don’t travel if you don’t have to.”

The storm forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including 130 at
Boston’s Logan airport alone, according to tracker Flight Aware.

Major airlines including JetBlue, United and American issued travel alerts
allowing passengers to change their flights without incurring fees.

The United Nations, where world leaders are gathered for the General
Assembly, urged media outlets covering the event to clear broadcasting
equipment from outside the New York headquarters due to strong winds.

– ‘Safety has to come first’ –

Major cultural events in the region were also called off, including the
Global Citizen and All Things Go festivals in New York, and Oceans Calling in
Maryland.

“Safety has to come first. This is the first time in 14 years we’ve had to
cancel,” said organizers of the Global Citizen event in Central Park, which
was meant to feature Lenny Kravitz, Lauryn Hill, country stars Lainey Wilson
and Shaboozey, and Alicia Keys.

About five inches of rain was forecast in areas of Massachusetts including
Boston — the equivalent of more than a month’s worth of rainfall.

After much uproar surrounding his tour, British pop singer Ed Sheeran’s
weekend concerts near Boston were canceled due to the storm, which could whip
up wind gusts of 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour along the New England
coast.

Some coastal areas of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New
Jersey have already seen flooding this week.

Nor’easters can occur throughout the year but are more frequent between fall
and early spring. They are almost always accompanied by heavy rain or
snowfall, as well as strong wind gusts.

Earlier this year, a Nor’easter that pummeled the northeast disrupted
hundreds of flights and left thousands of homes and businesses without power.

That storm came weeks after the region recovered from a devastating winter
weather system that was linked to more than 100 deaths.