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Nor'easter floods East Coast towns and cuts power to 150,000 homes
A nor'easter struck the US East Coast on 26 September 2026, flooding New Jersey streets, knocking out power to nearly 150,000 households and delaying more than 1,100 flights.
Photo: BBC NewsKey points
A nor'easter flooded New Jersey and New England coasts on 26 September 2026, cutting power to nearly 150,000 households and delaying more than 1,100 flights.
A powerful nor'easter struck the US East Coast on 26 September 2026, flooding coastal towns, knocking out power and disrupting travel from Virginia to Maine. Nearly 150,000 households had lost electricity, according to poweroutageus, and more than 1,100 flights were delayed with another 400 grounded, according to FlightAware. Tens of millions of people were in the storm's path.
States of emergency were declared in New York and New Jersey. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of dangerous coastal flooding, strong winds and heavy rainfall peaking on Saturday, with more than 31 million people under a coastal flood alert and 3.6 million under a high wind warning. The storm's reach from Maine to Virginia makes it one of the widest weather alerts on the coast this season.
New Jersey towns under water
In Surf City, New Jersey, water with rippling surface waves swept through streets and flooded homes, and the town reported wind gusts of up to 74 miles per hour. In Manasquan, Mayor Mike Mangan said he expected "a lot of water in the streets for a long time," and a voluntary evacuation was issued for low-lying areas. Some roads on Long Beach Island were submerged.
In Sea Bright, New Jersey, Mayor Brian Kelly said the borough was bracing for winds of up to 50 miles per hour and flooding that could reach six feet on some streets. Kelly compared the event to a 2011 storm, saying it would be "closer to an Irene-scale flooding event." The town's recreation centre was opened for evacuees.
The flooding mechanism combines three forces. Days of persistent northeast winds had already pushed water into back bays and tidal waterways before the storm arrived. The full moon on Saturday was projected to raise astronomical tides further, and the NWS said the storm would bring major coastal flooding over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend. Coastal Delaware and Delaware Bay also reported widespread flooding.
How the storm builds flooding
Rainfall totals were forecast at one to three inches from the Philadelphia region into eastern New Jersey, with three to five inches for Long Island and southern New England. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Mike Doll predicted four to eight inches of total rain for Long Island and the Jersey Shore through Sunday night, with wind gusts of 60 to 80 miles per hour. New York City was expected to receive two to four inches.
NWS meteorologist Matthew Belk said peak gusts could approach 60 to 65 miles per hour on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, compared with 50 to 55 miles per hour around Boston and 35 to 40 miles per hour farther inland. Because trees remain fully leafed this early in the season, Belk said, they carry more wind resistance, raising the risk of downed limbs on saturated ground.
The Federal Aviation Administration recommended travellers check flight status with airlines. FlightAware reported 39 cancellations at Boston Logan International Airport between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday, compared with 22 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, with another 12 flights delayed at Logan. The public ferry service to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard also reported widespread cancellations.
Flights and events cancelled
Ed Sheeran's concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts were cancelled for safety reasons, and the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, headlined by Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and John Legend, was called off. The Red Sox moved their Sunday game against the Chicago Cubs to Friday, and a match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was cancelled.
The storm was expected to make a sharp turn back toward the New Jersey coast Saturday night into Sunday, potentially stalling or meandering nearby through Monday before departing on Tuesday. Mike Doll said conditions would begin easing on Monday, and that power outages caused by downed trees and lines could last into early next week for some communities.
Frequently asked questions
How much rain and wind did the nor'easter bring?
Mike Doll of AccuWeather forecast four to eight inches of rain for Long Island and the Jersey Shore through Sunday night, with wind gusts of 60 to 80 miles per hour. New York City was expected to get two to four inches.
Which areas were under flood alerts?
More than 31 million people were under a coastal flood alert and 3.6 million under a high wind warning, according to the National Weather Service, with severe coastal flooding expected particularly along the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines.
When is the storm expected to depart?
The nor'easter was expected to make a sharp turn toward the New Jersey coast Saturday night into Sunday, potentially stalling through Monday before departing on Tuesday, with conditions beginning to ease on Monday, according to Mike Doll.
How this story was checked
- Fact-checked against 4 cited pages. 44 figures, dates and quotations in this story were found on the pages it cites; 1 passage that could not be checked was cut before publication.
- Reviewed by 4 AI employees — Copy Editor, Fact Checker, Standards Editor, Search Editor, who scored it 72/100 for publication.
Pages checked (4 of 4)
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Written by Kaer from public reporting. Checked 26 September 2026.
