Nor’easter leaves thousands of homes without power in New York and New Jersey

Thousands of homes in New York and New Jersey lost power due to heavy rains in the region. The rainfall, which started on Monday evening, has caused flooding and road closures.

From the time the rains began through 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 4,000 power outages have been reported, mostly in central New Jersey and Long Island Suffolk County, New York.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for both states due to heavy rains and flash flooding caused by the nor’easter cyclone.

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was impacted in several locations and has been closed, reported the New York Police Department (NYPD). Upper Manhattan, Bennett Avenue, and Broadway were also closed due to flooding.

Leaks were reported at the Rockefeller Center subway station in Midtown, however, the subway service has not been interrupted.

The severe weather warning remains in effect until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, yet traffic restrictions will be extended until 10:00 p.m.

This storm comes only one month after Hurricane Ida pounded New York and New Jersey with flooding and tornadoes, killing dozens of people throughout the Northeast.

#Hoboken #noreaster 1st and Harrison..Stay safe people.. pic.twitter.com/LGKKEWlSkX

— Tammy Hileman (@tammyhileman) October 26, 2021 

What is a nor’easter (northeastern system)?

A nor’easter is a system along the east coast of North America named after the winds in coastal areas that come mostly from the northeast.

These systems can occur throughout the year but are more frequent and violent between September and April.

Some of the most famous nor’easters include the following: the heavy snowfall that affected New York in 1988; the “Ash Wednesday” storm in March of 1993—one of the ten worst storms to hit the U.S. in the 20th Century; the snowfall that paralyzed New England on February 6, 1978; the “Super Storm” or Centurion Storm of 1993; and the most recent winter storms in Boston in January and February of 2015.

Nor’easters have caused billions of dollars of economic losses, severe disruptions to the economy and daily lives of people, and on some occasions, disastrous coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) website.

Large pockets of heavy rain-1-2" inch per hour rates possible are located in the western and eastern sections of the area. Local flooding possible with this activity. Activity moving NW. pic.twitter.com/QyZhgAIT4J

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) October 26, 2021