Nor'easter knocks out power to 70,000 customers across East Coast

A nor'easter on 26 September 2026 sat about 200 miles east of the Delmarva Peninsula and moved slowly north, cutting power to more than 70,000 customers and bringing coastal flooding from Virginia to Maine. A weather station in Surf City, New Jersey, reported a wind gust of 74 mph late Friday night, and other Jersey Shore stations reported gusts of 60 mph or more.cnn.com+1

The storm matters because it strikes early in the season, when leaves still sit on the trees and increase wind resistance. Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said that raises the risk of downed limbs, which cause power outages and leave debris in roads. Nor'easters are common between September and April, but a storm of this intensity is more typical in winter than in early fall.

Storm sits east of Delmarva

Coastal flood alerts remain in effect from eastern Virginia through southern Maine, including Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, New York City, New London, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston. Moderate to major coastal flooding is possible during high tide Saturday morning from the southern Chesapeake Bay to the Jersey Shore and up to Raritan Bay. Wind advisories run from the Delmarva Peninsula to eastern Massachusetts for gusts up to 45 mph.

High wind warnings cover the Jersey Shore and parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including Boston, Providence and Atlantic City, for gusts up to 60 mph, winds that can knock down trees and power lines. High waves of 6 to 12 feet or more will pound the coastline from coastal Delmarva through the Jersey Shore, Long Island and southeastern New England, producing widespread beach erosion.abc7ny.com

More than 70,000 customers were without electricity on Saturday morning, and around 35,000 outages were reported across the Tri-State area as of 7 a.m. Saturday. New Jersey reported 18,237 outages, Long Island 14,291, with Suffolk County accounting for 10,715 of those. New York City had 2,455 customers without power, Queens accounting for 2,006, plus 1,086 in Rockland County and 242 in Orange County.

Where the outage numbers came from

Peak gusts since Friday night reached 50 to 60 mph along the coast from southeast Massachusetts to New Jersey, and a few spots in Ocean County, New Jersey, had gusts around 70 mph. Belk forecast peak gusts of 60 to 65 mph on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket on Friday night and Saturday, about 50 to 55 mph around Boston, and 35 to 40 mph farther inland.

In the beachfront borough of Manasquan, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Mangan said he expected "a lot of water in the streets for a long time," and a voluntary evacuation had been issued earlier in some low-lying areas. Sea Bright Mayor Brian Kelly asked residents in low-lying areas to "strongly consider" relocating, and said flooding could reach up to 6 feet on some streets.

Flooding and evacuation orders

Tidal flood waters peaked at moderate flood stage late Friday and began rising again ahead of high tide later Saturday morning around 8 a.m., as waves of 16 feet or more were reported by buoys off the Jersey Shore and southern New England. On Long Island, a state of emergency was declared, and crews built a wall of sand along the beach to keep the rising tide away from homes.

Rainfall totals will be widespread at 2 to 4 inches across the Northeast, with some of the highest totals reaching up to 6 inches from New Jersey to Boston. Inland flash flooding is possible in areas with poor drainage, where blown leaves can clog storm drains, but the long duration of the rain means wind-driven rain could instead lead to power outages.

The storm disrupted travel and events. The Long Island Rail Road suspended Long Beach Branch service between Valley Stream and Long Beach due to flooding near Island Park, and Port Jefferson Branch service between Huntington and Port Jefferson due to a downed tree. American, United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue waived change fees to Northeast airports including Boston Logan and LaGuardia.

The Ed Sheeran shows at Gillette Stadium on Friday and Saturday nights were canceled, as was the Global Citizen Festival planned for Saturday in Central Park, the first cancellation of that event in 14 years. The Boston Red Sox moved their Sunday afternoon game to Friday to create a split doubleheader.

The nor'easter will continue to linger on Sunday but begin to break up and weaken, with winds and rain lightening though gusty winds and heavier pockets of rain still possible into Monday. The storm finally departs Tuesday afternoon, after moderate coastal flooding is possible during high tide around 9 p.m. Saturday, with some isolated major coastal flooding possible.