A nor’easter storm system lurking off the coast is set to slide into the U.S. Northeast midweek, making for a potentially soggy and windblown Halloween, weather experts said Monday.
While it’s slated to move on by Friday, residual effects could linger as trick-or-treaters venture out on their annual candy forage, meteorologists noted.
“It looks like it’s going to be Wednesday night through Thursday night will be the best chances for rainfall,” National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki told the Daily News on Monday morning. “And then those chances should diminish through the day Friday.”
The National Weather Service forecasted possible “brief, occasional strong wind gusts” of close to 50mph Thursday through Friday, though 40 mph gusts were more likely. The heavy rains posed the potential for “mostly minor” flooding, especially in “poor drainage areas,” the NWS said. Storm surge and high surf could bring “minor to locally moderate” flooding to parts of the coast.
New Jersey was also bracing for strong wind gusts up to 40 or 50 mph and potential moderate to minor coastal flooding, along with up to 1 or 2 inches of rain, and more near the coast, NJ Advance Media reported.
New England was the most at risk for a rained-out Halloween, the National Weather Service said, since the storm would likely travel northeast.
Though Ciemnecki hesitated to brand the tempest as a nor’easter, he said the chance of rain would grow in New York City throughout the day Wednesday. Then, depending on how the system evolves, Friday could be relatively clear in time for costumed creatures to roam their neighborhoods — wearing galoshes.
“The bulk of the rain will come to an end Friday morning, but there may still be some showers throughout the day Friday into Friday evening,” Ciemnecki said of the storm, which is typical for this time of year. “We’ll see how it all plays out. This will all get resolved in the next couple of days.”
