An early-season nor'easter is hammering the East Coast this weekend with major coastal flooding, high surf, strong winds, rain and rip currents from North Carolina to New England, including Boston and the New York City tri-state area.

A full moon is happening this weekend as well, only making the coastal flooding situation worse.

For a complete tracker with all of the maps you need to stay updated on this storm, click here.

Happening now

The nor'easter is lashing the mid-Atlantic and New England this weekend into early next week, and the flooding will continue to ebb and flow with the tides as the weekend progresses.

Coastal flooding is expected with major inundation, according to the National Weather Service from the Jersey shore to North Carolina's northern Outer Banks. Moderate inundation is expected across the coast of Massachusetts.

If you want to read about the events of the nor'easter on Saturday as they unfolded, click the link below.

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(LIVE UPDATES RECAP: Nor'easter lashes the East Coast)

The map below shows current winds and rain.

Forecast timing

Here's a general timeline of the storm and its impacts over the next several days. Boston is in the area of greatest concern for flooding and is now in a flood watch until 2 a.m. Tuesday. A detailed breakdown of the timing for the city and the entire region is below:

• Early Sunday: Rain and strong winds will continue from Virginia to Maine, including New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. The heaviest rain is expected from southern New Jersey to northern Massachusetts.
• Sunday: The nor'easter should meander back and forth just offshore, potentially briefly moving onshore and back into the water. Rain should linger over much of the Northeast, especially in southern New England. The heaviest rainfall is expected from southern New Jersey to northern Massachusetts, including New York City and Boston. Strong winds may linger into early morning from southern New England to the Jersey shore before diminishing in the afternoon. Some coastal flooding may occur during high tides.
• Monday: The weakened nor'easter will continue to sit right on or just off the coast, with rain showers and some gusty winds lingering over New England, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, including New York City. Heavier rainfall is expected for Boston, but this rain shouldn't be as intense as Saturday and Sunday.

Potential impacts

Coastal flooding

The map below shows coastal flood warnings that have been issued by the National Weather Service. These include Atlantic City, Long Island, the Norfolk metro area, Ocean City (Maryland and New Jersey), downtown Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

The most significant coastal flooding will include the Virginia Tidewater, as well as Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. In these areas, water will be about 2-4 feet higher than normal at high tide.

As much as 3 feet of inundation will occur across Long Island's south and east bays.

(WATCH: Nor'easter waves slam stilt homes on the Outer Banks)

Given this repeated battering from high surf, beach erosion is expected along stretches of these beaches, potentially reaching extreme levels for some areas.

(MORE: Coastal flooding safety)

At least minor coastal high tide flooding will continue for parts of New England, lasting through Sunday.

Rain

One bit of good fortune with this storm is that its rainfall is being spread out over several days, rather than arriving in one short deluge.

That means any flood risk should be localized to traditional urban trouble spots.

That rainfall could also add to any coastal flooding at high tide through Sunday.

Winds

HIgh wind warnings are in effect for parts of the Jersey Shore, Long Island and eastern Connecticut. In these areas, gusts up to 60 mph are possible on Sunday.

In these areas, tree damage and power outages are most likely. Ground soaked from the nor'easter's rain, as well as trees that still have leaves, will only enhance this threat of tree damage and outages.

Otherwise, occasional gusts from 40 to 50 mph are possible from Virginia to other parts of coastal New England. Some sporadic power outages and tree limb damage are also possible in these areas.

Travel impact

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you plan to travel in or to the Northeast this weekend:

• Northeast major-hub airports: Delays are likely at Boston-Logan and at NYC's three major airports through the weekend.
• Roads: Some downed trees or tree limbs and localized flash flooding are possible in southeast and coastal New England, the New York City metro and New Jersey. The I-95 corridor will be slick, so take precautions and expect significant road delays, especially with the NFL matchups Sunday. Avoid coastal areas from northern North Carolina to southeast New England around any high tides into the weekend.

(MORE: Travel tracker)

(MORE: Nor'easter impacts on Major League Baseball's weekend)

Recap

Some gusts topped 40 mph along the coast from southern Massachusetts down to the Virginia Tidewater Wednesday as the storm system started to develop in its early stages.

And those persistent winds piled up water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast.

Minor to moderate coastal flooding was reported from parts of the Jersey Shore to southeast Virginia during Wednesday's morning and evening high tides.

Flooding was reported Wednesday morning in downtown Norfolk, Smithfield and Suffolk, Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.

Widespread gusts of 30-45 mph were ongoing as of Thursday evening, with peak gusts over 45 mph reported along the coast of North Carolina.

Those persistent winds were piling up water from the ocean and bays along parts of the coast. Water levels reached major flood stage during high tide Thursday evening.

A 16-mile stretch of North Carolina Highway 12 on the Outer Banks is closed in both directions due to ocean overwash. Specifically, the road is closed from Sea Oats Drive to Oregon Inlet Road in Dare County.

Rising waters forced the cancellation of the Oceans Calling Festival in Maryland.

Notably, a peak wind gust of 74 mph was recorded in Surf City, New Jersey. Another notable wind gust of 81 mph was reported at Montauk Point, New York. Wind gusts over 50 mph have been clocked across the Northeast Saturday, including from southern Cape Cod to parts of Long Island, coastal and southern New Jersey, the Delaware coast and the Delmarva Peninsula, and a few weather stations even recorded gusts over 60 mph, including one at Nantucket Memorial Airport.

New York City's JFK Airport reported a gust of 56 mph. These winds have pushed water into numerous roads in the New York metro area and caused major travel delays. Saturday afternoon brought 25 river gauges to major flood stage during high tide.

The highest water levels happened with Saturday's high tides, boosted by Saturday's full moon. The moon has a direct impact on the tides, and when we are in a full moon, it makes the high tides even higher.

With some of the highest astronomical tides of the month ongoing, this nor'easter's coastal flooding is only exacerbated.

Rainfall of 1-3 inches of rain has been reported so far.

What is a nor’easter?

You might think it is too early for a nor’easter, but the criteria for a nor’easter are met more often than you would think.

A nor’easter simply means that the winds blow into an area from the northeast. For the Northeast, that usually means an area of low pressure is just off the coast, which brings the winds in this direction. 

(More: What is a nor’easter?)

Most people usually think of snow and ice with nor’easters and that is because nor’easters do tend to occur more in the late fall and winter. 

The most notable nor’easters tend to bring heavy snow because these lows move up along the Gulf Stream, tapping into the warm ocean. This warm, moist air then clashes with the cold air over the Northeast to create heavy snowfall. Fortunately, this one is occurring way earlier, so it is all rain this time.