11/06/2012

'Really intense nor'easter' heads for NY, NJ

The incoming storm will create additional storm surge, wind, and more power outages for the already besieged East Coast. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore reports.

By Ian Johnston, NBC News

A "really intense nor'easter" was expected to hit New York and New Jersey on Wednesday, bringing rain and wind gusts of up to 50 mph in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, weather.com reported.

Tom Niziol, a winter weather expert with weather.com, said the storm would weaken slightly Thursday but could bring snow to an area from the Catskill Mountains, N.Y., to parts of northern New England.

"If the snowfall amounts get to be a few inches … and we combine that with some brisk winds in that area, we may look at another round of power outages for areas that weren't as affected as the New Jersey and Long Island coasts from Sandy," he said.

From weather.com: Storm's city-by-city forecasts

Some 1.4 million homes and businesses were still without power or heat in near-freezing temperatures, Reuters reported early Tuesday. 

The National Weather Service said a "significant coastal storm" was expected to develop by midweek with an area of low pressure developing off the coast of Georgia late Tuesday.

Full coverage of Sandy's aftermath

The storm "is forecast to strengthen as it moves along the Carolina coast on Wednesday. The low will continue to strengthen into Thursday as it moves off the New Jersey coast," it added. "Potential impacts include wind gusts up to 50 mph, minor to moderate coastal flooding, heavy rain along coastal areas and wet snow across interior sections."

Residents across the Northeast pick up the pieces after Superstorm Sandy killed more than 100 people in 10 states and left a trail of destruction.

In a notice posted at 3:47 a.m. ET Tuesday, the NWS said the "current track of this system is expected to keep the heaviest rainfall just offshore of the New Jersey coast."

With the ground in coastal New Jersey towns still saturated with ocean water, officials feared the Nor'easter could flood them again. In Belmar, Lake Como and Spring Lake, officials pumped out three lakes to allow groundwater to drain into them. 

Want to help the recovery? Here's how

The NWS also forecast "some accumulating snows from Delaware up to Maine," including Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

Sandy roared ashore on the Jersey coast on October 29 as a rare hybrid superstorm after killing 69 people in the Caribbean and then merging with a strong North Atlantic system.

It killed at least 113 in the United States and knocked out power to millions of people while swamping seaside towns and inundating New York City's streets and subway tunnels.

More than 217,000 people had registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and about $199 million in has been provided, Reuters reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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