40 Million Brace for Nor'easter With Gusts Up to 80 MPH

Forty million people across multiple East Coast states face wind, rain and coastal flooding risk this weekend as the season's first nor'easter moves up the Atlantic seaboard, forecasters told the Guardian on Friday. The storm was already lashing coastal Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York's Long Island by Friday morning, with the National Weather Service's Boston office warning the rain could persist through Monday.

How many people are in the storm's path?

Up to 40 million people in states along the Atlantic coast could feel effects from the system, according to forecasters cited by the Guardian. The National Weather Service's Boston office wrote on X that "strong winds and rough seas along with a prolonged period of steady rain across the region are expected through this weekend," listing beach erosion, coastal flooding, downed limbs and power outages as its "main concerns."

What wind speeds should coastal residents expect?

AccuWeather put sustained winds at 40 mph to 60 mph along the coast from New Jersey to Maine starting late Friday, with gusts near Montauk, New York, reaching as high as 80 mph — speeds that approach hurricane-force thresholds even without a named tropical system involved. A nor'easter is a coastal storm that draws its name from the northeasterly winds that blow in from the ocean ahead of it, distinct from a hurricane, which forms over warm tropical water.

"The nor'easter has strengthened over the Atlantic and is expected to stay closer to the shoreline. This will bring more rain inland, but more importantly stronger winds closer to shore," said Elizabeth Danco, an AccuWeather expert meteorologist, in a statement reported by the Guardian.

Why is ground already saturated in the storm's path?

Danco noted the region has absorbed heavy rain in recent weeks, a factor she said raises the odds of falling trees and flooding once the new system's rain lands on already-soaked soil. The storm's exact track carries uncertainty, the Guardian reported, but forecasters said it still has the potential to deliver hurricane-force gusts regardless of precise positioning.

What's happening with the three Pacific hurricanes?

While the nor'easter moves up the Atlantic, three separate hurricanes are active in the Pacific, one of them threatening what forecasters described as "catastrophic flooding," including life-threatening flash floods, in Hawaii, according to the Guardian's report. The outlet linked the simultaneous activity to a record-setting El Niño pattern that it said is amplifying severe weather events globally this season — El Niño being the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters that shifts storm tracks and intensity worldwide.

When will the wind and rain end on the East Coast?

The Boston National Weather Service office said steady rain could continue into Monday, meaning the wind and flooding risk is expected to span the entire weekend before conditions ease. Inland areas were also bracing for arrival of the system, the Guardian reported, given the storm's capacity to push hurricane-force gusts beyond the immediate coastline even as its precise path remains uncertain.