Northeastern US hit by storm: around 100,000 homes without power and hundreds of flights canceled

Flooding, heavy rainfall and powerful winds accompanied a storm that swept across the northeastern United States, leaving some areas without electricity.

On Saturday, around 100,000 homes were without power. Authorities warned that the threat posed by the weather conditions would continue in the coming days. Tens of millions of people live in the affected areas, while the storm’s impact on the Mid-Atlantic region and New England was expected to last throughout the weekend.

Bob Oravec, the National Weather Service’s lead meteorologist in College Park, Maryland, forecast strong winds, high tides and the possibility of heavy rainfall across the northeastern US in the days ahead. In Surf City, a coastal town in New Jersey, streets were covered by water, which also entered some homes.

Authorities in several states along the East Coast urged caution and asked residents to follow weather forecasts. Although New England often experiences storms of this kind in the fall, this one arrived earlier than usual in the season.

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer urged residents to stay continually informed about developments. For New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the greatest risk was linked to coastal flooding. She also warned of heavy rain, strong winds and waves up to six meters high.

In a statement Saturday morning, Hochul said the rain had begun and that, although only around 1.3 centimeters of rain had been recorded at that point, a much larger amount was expected.

On the New Jersey coast, marina owner Kenny Formica was trying to monitor conditions from his home with the help of security cameras. Meanwhile, the water inside the marina continued to rise. He explained that the building rarely floods and that the last similar event he could remember was Hurricane Sandy, during which, he said, the business suffered more than $4 million in damage.

Before the storm arrived, staff had reinforced the ropes securing the boats and removed equipment and belongings at risk of being damaged. The marina’s trucks and vehicles had been moved to the highest point on the property, but by Saturday morning the water had nearly surrounded them as well.

That morning, Formica received messages from customers telling him that their boats and watercraft were no longer there. At around 4:00 a.m., one customer sent him a video of his 7.6-meter boat after it had broken free from its moorings.

Describing the loss, Formica said the boat weighed around 3.6 tons, was worth $150,000 and had disappeared.

Flooding also occurred in Edgewater, New Jersey, near the Hudson River, where a large parking lot filled with cars was inundated. Footage shared on social media showed a vehicle almost completely submerged, with only its panoramic roof above the water. At the same time, people tried to move other cars out of the flooded area.

The severe weather disrupted many people’s plans and interrupted air travel. Boston’s Logan Airport recorded hundreds of flight cancellations, while most flights to the tourist destinations of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket also did not operate.

The sports calendar was also changed. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, who were preparing for the playoffs during the final weekend of the Major League Baseball regular season, were forced to reschedule their games because of the storm.

To get ahead of the bad weather, the teams played a doubleheader in Boston on Friday. MLB later decided to move the series finale, scheduled for Sunday, to the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium in Florida. Ed Sheeran also canceled the two concerts he was due to hold on Friday and Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

In the South, Jayden Sink and Kimberly Laprad’s wedding plans were disrupted by the closure of a highway on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. The couple from Virginia had arrived on the island before the storm, but around 45 guests were unable to cross the closed road and remained on the other side.

A local campground offered them another space for the ceremony, cabins and someone to officiate the wedding. A DJ also offered to provide the music.