States of emergency were in place in New York and New Jersey as officials were on high alert for the storm’s impacts, which forecasters said could rival those of Ida and Henri.
AccuWeather Global Weather Center – October 26, 2021 – Flash flood watches and warnings were in place on Tuesday as a major storm system continued to crawl up the Atlantic coast where it was unleashing drenching rain along the Interstate 95 corridor and pounding coastal areas with rough surf and high winds. AccuWeather forecasters say it’s just the first of multiple storms that will take aim at the Northeast during the final week of October.
Severe flash flooding was already ongoing Tuesday morning in parts of New Jersey as the storm, the first nor’easter of the season, continued to strengthen. Some parts of the state reported more than 4 inches of rainfall over a 24-hour period early Tuesday.
The storm has been categorized as a nor’easter since it will be spreading northeasterly winds along the coast and is the first such storm of the season to impact the region. The storm is forecast to complete a counterclockwise loop near the Northeast coast into Wednesday night, which will prolong adverse conditions in New England and Long Island, New York.
Forecasters said the storm had undergone a period of rapid intensification known as bombogenesis, which is when the central pressure of a storm drops by 0.71 of an inch of mercury (24 millibars) or more over a 24-hour period to become what is known as a bomb cyclone. Two similar storms developed in the northern Pacific and slammed into the western U.S. late last week and over the weekend.
