New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Sunday night for New York City, Long Island and Westchester County in light of the storm, which began lashing the East Coast with rain, wind and coastal flooding over the weekend. New Jersey also declared a state of emergency.
The National Weather Service says communities in the Tri-State area have seen anywhere from one to a little over two inches of rain so far, with wind gusts pushing 50 miles per hour in some locations. Meteorologist Dominic Ramunni says coastal areas have seen the brunt of the storm, and it’s on its way out.
“As we go into [Monday night], we’re gonna start to see the effects of this system begin to wind down as the storm moves out further into the Atlantic [Ocean]," he explains. "I think we’ll see chances of rain start to go down into this evening, and then [Tuesday] we’re gonna be talking about a mostly dry day, perhaps an outside chance of a shower in the morning.”
The National Weather Service still has a coastal flood warning in effect for southern Westchester County, the Bronx, northern Queens, and parts of Long Island until 8 p.m. Ramunni says some sites along the Hudson River have seen minor to moderate flooding that swelled with the tides, but he expects it to wane starting this evening.
“Those water levels are gonna start to come down and recede as we go into late afternoon and early [Monday] evening. And I think we’re gonna be done as far as the coastal flooding — that tidal flooding along the Hudson River, this is probably the last cycle we’re gonna see, in terms of exceeding flood thresholds from this event.”
The storm delayed flights, knocked out power, and cancelled New York City’s annual Columbus Day parade. New York City Emergency Management says it has received reports of more than 170 fallen trees since Sunday. As of 4:30 p.m., Con Edison said it was still working to restore service to roughly 1,300 customers between Westchester County and New York City. Orange & Rockland Utilities still had nearly 400 customers without power at last report.
In Orange County, Emergency Services Commissioner Peter Cirigliano says the main concern has been gusty winds and fallen trees.
“We’re not necessarily dealing with flooding, but most of it is wind impacts — some downed trees and downed power lines," he explains. "But certainly not a wide-scale power outage issue.”
Cirigliano says the holiday may have helped by encouraging people to stay at home rather than hit the roads. But if you’re still on your way back from the office, he has some advice.
“My suggestion to motorists is just be careful of the occasional wind gusts as you’re driving, especially tractor-trailers, box trucks — they will feel that wind gust, especially on the interstates," he says. "So just slow down, get to your location safely.”
Most trains on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Roads are running on time, according to the MTA’s website. A fallen tree temporarily delayed the New Haven branch earlier Monday.
Ramunni says the storm may be helpful, given that much of New York state has been under drought conditions. He says rain levels are significantly lower than average for this time of year, and it’s unlikely this rain will completely end the drought.
“Rainfall deficits for this year are close to double digits, nearly 10 inches below where we should be for this time of year," says Ramunni. "So I don’t anticipate we’re gonna recover here automatically from droughts with this storm alone, but it’s certainly a benefit."
