‘Powerful’ storm dumps heavy rain over East Coast with 59M under flood alerts

A “powerful” storm lashed the mid-Atlantic coast Monday with heavy rain and thunderstorms, leaving 59 million people from Virginia to Maine under flood alerts, almost 700,000 homes and businesses without power, and holiday travelers scrambling because of flight delays and cancellations. 

There’s a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of New England through Tuesday, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warned.

“The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads and small streams the most vulnerable,” the weather service said. 

The same storm system battered Florida and the Carolinas with strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend; Charleston set a daily record Sunday with 3.86 inches of rainfall, and Gainesville, Florida reported more than 7 inches. South Carolina also set a record for greatest storm surge from a nontropical system with a high tide at almost 10 feet. 

The East Coast is reeling from the impacts with almost 700,000 people across New England and New York without power as of 1 p.m., according to PowerOutage.us.

The same storm system battered Florida and the Carolinas with strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend — with Charleston breaking a daily record Sunday with 3.86 inches of rainfall and Gainesville, Florida, recording more than 7 inches. South Carolina also set a record for greatest storm surge from a non-tropical system with a high tide at nearly 10 feet. 

The East Coast is already reeling from the impacts with nearly 700,000 people across New England and New York without power as of 1 p.m., according to PowerOutage.us.

In New York City, a travel advisory is in effect due to flooding conditions on roads, power outages and high winds on bridges. The city’s emergency management office also warned of “imminent” flash flooding in Manhattan and the Bronx, warning locals to avoid basements and low-lying areas. 

“Please exercise caution with your morning commute. Take mass transit and stay off the roads if possible,” Mayor Eric Adams tweeted. 

Over 10,000 people in the Big Apple were without power due to the storm and there were over 200 reports of downed trees across the city, the NYC Emergency Management office said. 

In New York City, a travel advisory is in effect because of flooding conditions on roads, power outages and high winds on bridges. The city’s emergency management office also warned of “imminent” flash flooding in Manhattan and the Bronx, warning locals to avoid basements and low-lying areas. 

“Take mass transit and stay off the roads if possible,” Mayor Eric Adams tweeted. 

More than 10,000 people in the Big Apple were without power because of the storm, and there were more than 200 reports of downed trees across the city, the New York City Emergency Management Office said. 

In Connecticut, the Danbury Emergency Management Office urged locals to avoid flooded roads in the city, with water rescues and vehicles stuck in water reported. A part of Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s tower building exterior also sustained damage. There were no injuries in the damage. 

Amtrak said train services were temporarily disrupted between Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston because of “overhead power issues.”

The electricity company Central Maine Power shared dramatic photos of the storm damage across Maine today, showing downed structures and toppled trees blocking roads. 

In parts of New Jersey, flooded streams and creeks turned streets into rivers.

Water rescues were conducted in flooded parts of Hillsdale, New Jersey, Monday morning. The Hillsdale Fire Department shared a photo showing the rescue of a baby after a family’s home was impacted by floods. Capt. Sean Smith told NBC News that Glendale Drive is a “flood zone, it hasn’t flooded this bad in a while.” 

The village of Moretown, Vermont, was also evacuated because of “significant” flooding, Fire Warden Stefan Pratt said, estimating 30 to 50 houses were in the evacuation zone. 

More than 2,000 flights have been delayed nationwide and more than 400 canceled, numbers likely to keep growing Monday ahead of holiday travel chaos that sees millions take to the skies a week ahead of Christmas, according to FlightAware data. It comes after a weekend that saw a dizzying number of delays — more than 10,000 — and almost 200 cancellations.

As many as 38 million people in the Northeast are also under wind alerts. In the past 48 hours, New York’s LaGuardia Airport clocked a 54 mph wind gust; Brookhaven Calabro Airport in Shirley, New York, a 60 mph wind gust; and Boston Logan International Airport, a 51 mph gust. 

A ground stop was issued at Boston Logan International Airport because of winds that expired at 1 p.m. ET. 

By the end of today, every single state on the East Coast will have experienced at least 2 inches of rain. 

The threat of heavy rain will end Tuesday as the system moves further into Canada by Monday evening. 

Lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes and upslope snow over parts of the northern and the central Appalachians are also in the forecast Monday through Wednesday, the weather service said.

The heaviest snow Monday will fall over parts of the central Appalachians, southwest of Lake Michigan in Michigan and Indiana, and along the central and the eastern shores of Lake Erie in Ohio and New York. The lake-effect snow will lighten up Tuesday and end over the upper Great Lakes, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, a storm is moving onshore over the West Coast on Monday that will also produce significant rainfall, as well as snow in the Sierra Nevada over the next few days. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

— Yasmeen Persaud contributed.