Jersey Shore Nor'easter Flooding Worst Since Sandy

Tide gauges at Atlantic City and Barnegat Bay recorded their highest coastal flooding since Hurricane Sandy as the nor'easter begins to weaken.

FOX Weather reports that the nor'easter drove coastal flooding at two Jersey Shore locations to their worst levels since Hurricane Sandy. At Atlantic City, water rose 3.26 feet above normally dry ground — the highest level since Sandy's 4.16-foot rise — while the Barnegat Bay Lighthouse gauge reached 2.69 feet, topping anything recorded there since Sandy's 3.91-foot rise. Major flood stage was reported at tidal gauges from Delaware to Long Island, including Lewes and Indian River Inlet in Delaware and Atlantic City, Margate, Sea Isle City, Tuckerton, Belmar and Sea Bright in New Jersey, plus Island Park, Freeport and Lindenhurst in New York.

Hurricane Sandy benchmarks are the yardstick for the worst coastal flooding on the Mid-Atlantic shore, and early-season nor'easters rarely approach them. Coming before peak coastal storm season, a surge within roughly half a foot to a foot of Sandy at two separate gauges underscores how much power this slow-moving system packed. For residents like Sea Bright's Caroline Verinius, who told the Associated Press her garage sat under about a foot of water, "it's not like a one-time occurrence. It's getting wet again and again" — each high tide bringing a fresh round of flooding rather than a single catastrophic surge.

The damage record is broad. FOX Weather counted more than 1,000 downed tree reports across New York City's five boroughs, where a 56-year-old housing authority worker was killed by a falling tree in East New York, Brooklyn. Massachusetts communities saw more than 7 inches of rain since Friday, per FOX Weather, while gusts of 45 to 65 mph — with localized peaks of 60–65 mph forecast by FOX 5 New York — toppled fully foliated trees. Erosion cut into beaches from the Outer Banks to New England, and on Nantucket, FOX Weather reports, waves uncovered wooden wreckage believed to be the 19th-century schooner Warren Sawyer, which ran aground on Dec. 22, 1884.

More than 40,000 customers across the Northeast lost power at the storm's height — over 20,000 in New York, more than 13,000 in Connecticut and over 6,000 in New Jersey, according to FOX Weather's outage tracker — though the Associated Press cited poweroutage.us figures above 100,000 earlier Sunday. Boston's Logan Airport saw more than 250 flight cancellations, the Yankees-Orioles game was canceled, and NJ Transit service halted in Monmouth County after trees blocked tracks. The CDC warns coastal floodwater can carry sewage, chemicals, debris and downed power lines, causing infections and gastrointestinal illness. Storm surge of 2.5 to 3 feet threatened Long Island's southern and eastern bays, per FOX 5 New York.

The FOX Forecast Center expects the storm to weaken rapidly after moving into New Jersey Sunday night before looping back over the waters between New Jersey and Long Island on Monday. Winds ease to 20–30 mph gusts, but rain continues across the Mid-Atlantic and New England, with another half-inch to 2 inches possible in parts of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts through early Tuesday. Monday brings the final high-tide flooding cycle, and Flood Watches remain up in New England through Monday night as waterlogged areas risk renewed flooding. The Mid-Atlantic should begin drying out Tuesday, as cleanup and damage assessment continue along the shore.