Strengthening nor’easter threatens New York, Boston and New England with flooding

A strengthening nor’easter is battering parts of the US East Coast, bringing dangerous surf and threatening the Northeast with coastal flooding, heavy rain and powerful winds through the weekend.

The storm is currently several hundred miles off the Mid-Atlantic coast and is expected to strengthen as it moves north over the next two days.

Coastal flooding and strong winds are already affecting areas from North Carolina and Virginia to New Jersey and conditions are expected to worsen across New England and Long Island by late Friday and Saturday.

The full moon on Saturday could increase the flooding threat by pushing high tide levels higher.

Boston and Providence could see wet and windy conditions intensify Friday night or Saturday morning. Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island are under a high wind watch, with gusts potentially reaching 50 mph that could bring down trees and cause power outages.

New York City is expected to remain outside the storm’s strongest conditions but could still experience periods of rain and wind gusts approaching 40 mph on Saturday.

Urban flooding is also possible around high tide Friday evening and Saturday morning.

The storm could continue affecting parts of the Northeast through Sunday or Monday.