KEY POINTS

  • Flooding is forecasted near rivers and streams in the Northeast
  • Wind gusts as high as 80 mph is possible in some parts of Maine
  • A cold blast is also expected to bring wind chills in New York

New Jersey and its neighboring states have been placed under flood-related warnings and watches as the Eastern U.S. braces for a storm system that will bring heavy rainfall and possible scattered flooding in parts of the region.

A strengthening storm system moving towards the Southeast coast is expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic on Thursday "with rainfall totals of 1-3" possible," the National Weather Service (NWS) said in its Short Range Public Discussion report published Wednesday.

"Dangerous coastal flooding from northern New Jersey to northeast Massachusetts" is possible due to strong southerly winds hitting the area Thursday. Flooding concerns have also been raised in Vermont and Maine due to "heavy rain over a fresh snowpack" Friday.

The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) warned of possible flooding impacts in urban areas near rivers and streams in the Northeast within the next few days.

The NWS in Mount Holly said it is expecting periods of moderate to heavy rain starting Thursday night that will kickoff as "a light wintry mix."

By early Friday, the agency forecasted gale-force winds and seas of up to 14 feet in coastal waters. Minor to moderate coastal flooding may then take place Friday morning in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

In Maine, the NWS in Caribou is expecting wind gusts of up to 65 mph in Eastport, Calais and Machias, gusts of up to 70 mph in Elisworth, and gusts as high as 80 mph in Mount Katahdin from Friday afternoon through evening.

The office also noted that the highest risk of flooding due to heavy rain and snow melt is expected in the southern half of the Caribou vicinity.

Officials at the NWS in Gray said they are expecting up to three inches of rain in several areas including Plymouth, Sanford, Manchester and Portland, while up to four inches is possible in Bridgton.

Meanwhile, in New York, weather officials warned of wind gusts over 55 mph in possible areas affected by the late-week winter storm.

A cold blast will usher in wind chills as low as eight degrees below zero in some areas.

Over in Vermont, officials at the NWS in Burlington forecasted widespread wind gusts of over 55 mph in the state on Friday, with Middlebury possibly seeing gusts of up to 67 mph, the Malone area experiencing gusts of up to 70 mph, and Rutland being hit with wind gusts of up to 74 mph.

In Massachusetts, officials at the NWS in Boston warned of gusty winds that could blow around unsecured objects. The office also noted that some areas such as New Bedford and Chatham may experience wind gusts of up to 65 mph.

Flood alerts in New Jersey

Coastal Flood Warning effective from 4 a.m. Thursday through noon Friday:

  • Eastern and Western Monmouth
  • Middlesex

Coastal Flood Advisories effective from 4 a.m. Thursday through noon Friday:

  • Coastal Ocean, Coastal Atlantic, Ocean, Southeastern Burlington, Atlantic
  • Atlantic Coastal Cape May, Cape May, Cumberland
  • Salem

Coastal Flood Watch effective through 11 a.m. Friday:

  • Hudson, Eastern Essex, Eastern Union

Flood Watches effective through noon Friday:

  • Western Monmouth, Middlesex, Mercer
  • Camden, Northwestern Burlington, Salem, Gloucester

Flood Watch effective through 10 p.m. Friday:

  • Warren, Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon
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Flood alerts in Maine

Coastal Flood Watch effective from Friday morning through Friday afternoon:

  • Coastal York, Coastal Cumberland, Coastal Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc

Coastal Flood Watch effective from Friday morning through Saturday morning:

  • Coastal Hancock and Coastal Washington

Flood Watches effective from Friday morning through 2 a.m. Saturday:

  • Central Somerset and Northern Franklin
  • Androscoggin, Central Interior Cumberland, Coastal and Interior York, Coastal Cumberland, Interior Cumberland Highlands, Southern Oxford, Southern Somerset, Lincoln, Knox, Kennebec

Flood Watch effective through 4 a.m. Saturday:

  • Northern Oxford

Flood alerts in New York

Lakeshore Flood Warning effective from 7 a.m. Friday through 7 p.m. Saturday:

  • Northern and Southern Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua

Lakeshore Flood Warning effective from 1 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Sunday:

  • Jefferson and Oswego

Coastal Flood Warning effective from 5 a.m. Thursday through 11 a.m. Friday:

  • Southern Nassau and Southern Queens

Coastal Flood Warnings effective from 5 a.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Friday:

  • Northeast, Southeast and Southwest Suffolk
  • Southern Westchester

Flood Watch effective from Friday morning through 5 a.m. Saturday:

  • Northern and Southern Washington, Southeast Warren

Flood Watches effective from Friday morning through 6 p.m. Friday:

  • Eastern and Western Dutchess, Eastern and Western Columbia, Eastern and Western Greene, Eastern and Western Ulster, Northern Warren, Montgomery and Eastern Rensselaer
  • Delaware and Sullivan

Flood Watch effective from late Thursday evening through 7 a.m. Saturday:

  • Otsego

High Wind Warning effective from 4 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Saturday:

  • Southeastern St. Lawrence, Southern Franklin, Western Essex and Western Clinton (wind gusts of up to 65 mph possible)
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Flood alerts in Vermont

Flood Watch effective through 6 p.m. Friday:

  • Eastern and Western Windham

Flood Watches effective from Friday morning through Saturday morning:

  • Bennington
  • Easter and Western Addison, Eastern and Western Chittenden, Eastern and Western Rutland, Eastern and Western Windsor, Washington and Orange

High Wind Warning effective from 4 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday:

  • Caledonia, Eastern and Western Addison, Eastern and Western Chittenden, Eastern and Western Franklin, Eastern and Western Rutland, Orleans, Essex, Washington and Lamoille (wind gusts of up to 65 mph possible)

Flood alerts in Massachusetts

Coastal Flood Watch effective through 2 p.m. Friday:

  • Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Essex, Eastern and Southern Plymouth, Dukes, Barnstable, Nantucket and Southern Bristol

High Wind Warning effective from 1 a.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday:

  • Barnstable, Central and Southeast Middlesex, Eastern and Western Norfolk, Eastern and Western Plymouth, Nantucket, Dukes, Suffolk, Southern and Northern Bristol

Flood alerts in New Hampshire

Coastal Flood Watch effective through 1 p.m. Friday:

  • Coastal Rockingham

Flood Watches effective from Friday morning through 2 a.m. Saturday:

  • Southern Coos
  • Eastern, Western and Central Hillsborough, Belknap, Cheshire, Interior Rockingham, Northern and Southern Caroll, Northern and Southern Grafton, Merrimack, Stafford and Sullivan
Tonya Smith, whose trailer was washed away by flooding, reaches for food from her mother Ollie Jean Johnson to give to Smith's father, Paul Johnson, as the trio used a rope to hang on over a swollen Grapevine Creek in Perry County, Kentucky, U.S. July 28,
Representation. In photo: Tonya Smith, whose trailer was washed away by flooding, reaches for food from her mother Ollie Jean Johnson to give to Smith's father, Paul Johnson, as the trio used a rope to hang on over a swollen Grapevine Creek in Perry County, Kentucky, U.S. July 28, 2022. Reuters / MATT STONE/USA TODAY NETWORK