Heavy rain Wednesday could cause flooding in Tri-State Area. Get the First Alert Weather Day forecast.

CBS News

a day ago

Heavy rain could lead to flooding in parts of the Tri-State Area on Wednesday and Thursday, triggering First Alert Weather Days.
While weather conditions have been pretty quiet to begin the week, they're going to become much more active in the short term. Tuesday night, clouds will start to increase, a few sprinkles and/or light showers may develop towards dawn. Lows will mainly be in the low to mid 60s.
The chance of rain then increases exponentially throughout the day on Wednesday.
The morning hours will feature isolated light showers and maybe some drizzle, but by the afternoon, heavy rain will already be ongoing across the northern suburbs.
That heavy rain becomes more widespread and more intense by the evening hours, continuing through the overnight hours of Wednesday into early Thursday morning.
Rainfall rates could approach 1 inch per hour at times, therefore the risk of flash flooding is imminent.
Temperature-wise, another below average day is expected on Wednesday, with highs only in the low 70s.
After a wet early morning, the rain tapers off by late morning on Thursday. Final rainfall totals will average 1-2 inches, with some locally higher amounts possible.
As the rain ends, Hurricane Erin will be between 350-450 miles offshore. While no direct impacts are likely, indirect impacts are highly likely. These effects will come in the form of dangerous rip currents, very high surf that could reach as high as 15 feet in some locations, and coastal flooding that could result in 1-2 feet of inundation.
Gusty winds will also be an issue at the coast, gusting between 35-50 mph. Those winds, in conjunction with saturated soils from the heavy rain, may lead to downed trees and power lines.
The main timeframe of Erin's coastal impacts will be throughout the day on Thursday and could linger into Friday.
High Surf Advisory for all beaches in New Jersey, New York City and the south shore of Long Island from Wednesday into Thursday.
Coastal Flood Watch for Monmouth and Ocean counties from Thursday into Friday.
Jersey Shore: Windy conditions, gusting between 35-45 mph, very high surf, dangerous rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. Waves 8-13 feet.
Long Island: Windy conditions, gusting between 35-50 mph. Very high surf, dangerous rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. Waves 10-15 feet.
NYC: Breezy conditions, gusting between 20-40 mph. City beaches will see very high surf, dangerous rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. Waves 8-13 feet.
Hudson Valley, Northern & Central New Jersey, Connecticut: Not much effects in these areas other than some clouds and gusty winds, gusting between 25-35 mph.