State of Emergency issued for NYC as nor'easter threatens flooding

If there has been a trend in the last day, it has been for an increase in impacts across the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. The nor'easter will retrograde, but how much has been a question. Models today are taking the center of the nor'easter back to the New Jersey coast now on Sunday.

This lengthens the window where damaging conditions exist at the coast, increases the amount of rainfall across Long Island and southern New England and likely increases the highest potential wind gusts a smidge too.

Hurricane Nolo was upgraded to a Category 2 with winds of 105 mph Friday morning and continues to creep closer to the Big Island. Light to moderate rain has been falling on the eastern side of the Big Island through the morning. 

Conditions will gradually deteriorate on Friday into Saturday with an increase in winds and surf and the threat for flash flooding and mudslides increases, too.

Here's the forecast.

We keep throwing this word around — but what's actually happening, especially in the Northeast?

Beach erosion is when sand and land along the shoreline gets worn away by waves, wind, and water — faster than the beach can naturally rebuild itself.

Right now, a stalled nor'easter is keeping waves hitting the same spots tide after tide instead of moving through, stripping sand fast enough that a beach can look totally different by Monday than it did Friday.

Eroded dunes lose their job as a natural buffer, meaning storm surge and flooding can push farther inland than usual — not just affecting the beach itself.

The governors of New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency for several counties, including New York City, due to threats of flooding, high winds and heavy rain from the nor'easter.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of potential power outages caused by the weather through the weekend.

Astronaut Jessica Meir captured stunning images of Hurricane Polo from the International Space Station.

Earlier this week, Polo became the strongest storm on Earth so far in 2026. The hurricane reached maximum sustained winds of 180 mph, tying the Western Pacific’s Bavi and Sinlaku, However, it beat both storms out in terms of the lowest pressure.

And if a view from space wasn’t enough, here is a peek into what it looks like inside of Polo’s eye.

One of the more weird aspects of this weekend’s nor’easter is that instead of jetting off toward the Canadian Maritimes like many similar storms do, this one will get captured and nudged back toward the coast of New Jersey and New York. 

This will happen because of similarly strong high pressure system over the Great Lakes and eastern Canada. Clockwise flow around it will pull the nor’easter westward and act to strengthen it. 

The nor’easter will eventually mature and weaken by Sunday and Monday and high pressure will release its grasp on it. This will keep it rainy into Monday for some spots in New England before the nor’easter departs toward far eastern Canada.

We are also monitoring other hurricanes and tropical storms, and this animation below grabbed our attention. 

From west to east, you see three Pacific hurricanes at once, Hurricane Nolo near Hawaii, Category 4 Hurricane Odalys, then Category 5 Hurricane Polo. It’s the second time Polo reached 180 mph winds this week, tied for the third strongest Eastern Pacific hurricane by wind speed on record, behind only 2015’s Patricia (215 mph) and 1997’s Linda (185 mph). 

Oh … and the National Hurricane Center is also watching two other areas of the Central and Eastern Pacific for development early next week. 

Next week we could have “Rachel” and “Simon” if both become tropical storms in the Eastern Pacific, or “Olana” if the orange blob area in the animation below does so first in the Central Pacific Basin. 

All juiced largely from El Niño. 

Before the outage

Fill your car's gas tank, charge your phones and keep a landline phone handy if you have one— it often works when the power doesn't. Pack a cooler with ice to protect fridge and freezer items, and build an emergency kit with water, non-perishable food, flashlights (no candles — fire risk), a battery-powered radio and a week's supply of medications.

During the outage

Keep fridge and freezer doors closed — a full freezer stays cold for about 48 hours unopened. Unplug sensitive electronics to avoid surge damage when power returns, and avoid unnecessary driving since traffic lights will be out.

Using a generator

Plug appliances directly into the generator — never connect a portable generator to your home's electrical system. If buying one, consult an electrician to make sure it's rated for your power needs.

Parts of the Virginia Tidewater have seen at least modest coastal flooding at high tide since Wednesday morning. 

As the graph below from the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel, Virginia, tide gauge shows, the last five high tides through this morning have seen coastal flooding. 

And the next four high tides from this evening through Sunday are forecast to see coastal flooding there, according to the National Weather Service. 

So that’s a total of nine high tides with coastal flooding at this location, and likely others along the mid-Atlantic coast. 

It’s this repeated battering from waves and intrusions of high tides that is raising the threat of beach erosion. 

The nor’easter is bringing some gnarly waves to the New Jersey coast, and these surfers are taking full advantage of it.

These surfers in Ocean City, New Jersey, hit the beach on Friday morning. The storm system will continue to bring high surf and strong rip currents to New Jersey beaches.

A high surf advisory is in effect in Ocean City until 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The nor’easter could have a massive impact on the last weekend of the regular season for Major League Baseball. With just three games to go on the schedule and several teams still fighting for their postseason lives, schedule adjustments and even some potential cancellations could have serious implications for playoff baseball.

Two series have already shifted their schedule. The matchups in Boston (Cubs vs. Red Sox at Fenway Park)  and New York (Orioles vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium) will feature doubleheaders today to avoid some of the weather this weekend.

But the doubleheaders may not be the only major changes coming: Major League Baseball is also considering a change in venue entirely for the final game in the Cubs vs. Red Sox series — potentially to Tampa, Florida. Tropicana Field is currently being set up for a quick logistical adjustment if the season finale between the two teams needs to be relocated.

If so, that game would likely be played on Sunday, with both teams traveling on Saturday following Friday’s doubleheader. Both of these teams have already clinched a postseason berth, but their playoff seeding is still very much in the air.

Storm chaser Jaden Pappenheim captured this photo of some Jersey Shore residents evacuating their Ship Bottom neighborhood, carrying what they can as water fills the street. 

We’ve seen video of roads already underwater across the Jersey Shore. As winds surge today and tomorrow, multiple high tides will send even more water into neighborhoods.

Hawaii’s higher terrain can squeeze more moisture from Hurricane Nolo to enhance the rainfall along the slopes, increasing the risk for mudslides and faster runoff. 

That water flows downhill where lower elevated communities could face both flash flooding and debris flows. 

Be aware that the flooding and debris can travel well beyond where the heaviest rain falls.

Ed Sheeran’s concerts tonight and tomorrow night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Stadium officials announced the cancellation pointing to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England this weekend. Fans with tickets will be refunded.

A slew of other weekend fall festivals and events have been canceled or postponed up and down the East Coast, including the three-day Oceans Calling Festival in Ocean City, Maryland. Fans will miss out on headliners like Gwen Stefani, Ludacris, Mumford & Sons and Dave Matthews Band.

This year's Global Citizen Festival, scheduled for this weekend at Central Park in New York City, has been canceled. The annual star-studded 24-hour music festival and advocacy event was set to feature performances by John Legend, Shaboozey, Lainey Wilson and more.

High winds and whipping surf didn’t deter a couple determined to exchange vows on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Photographer Wes Snyder was on the beach in Nags Head recording storm conditions when he captured Randy and Jessica's ceremony.

The winds forced them to say “I do” under the pier. But as their officiant said, “When you’re in love, a storm doesn’t matter.”

This storm will be a slow-moving rain and windmaker for the Northeast, unfortunately making it for a dreary weekend from Baltimore to Boston. 

(MORE: Timing and impact details)

A nor'easter is a strong area of low pressure along the East Coast of the United States that typically features winds from the northeast off the Atlantic Ocean — hence the term "nor'easter."

The heavily populated I-95 Corridor in the Northeast, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., is especially vulnerable to this type of storm because of how close they are to the coast.

At least three airlines are waiving change fees for passengers whose travel plans may be impacted by the nor’easter. 

American Airlines, Jet Blue and United are waiving the fees through Sunday, Sept. 29 for flights at airports across New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, Rhode Island and Washington D.C.

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Nolo near Hawaii and Hurricane Polo off the coast of Mexico. And if you’re like the rest of our newsroom, you’re probably thinking to yourself, Nolo and Polo — could this be any more confusing?

Well, this wasn’t done intentionally.

The name Nolo came off the Central Pacific name list, which picks up where we left off the previous year. This is because the Central Pacific basin typically only sees a few named storms each season. 

Meanwhile, Polo formed in the Eastern Pacific, meaning it got its name from that basin’s list which begins back at “A” each year, just like in the Atlantic.

So, long story short, there was virtually no way to know these storm names would be used at the same time — but a comical, and slightly confusing, coincidence for sure.