So, there's a big storm fixin' to move up the East Coast this afternoon and over the weekend. The system is going to turn into what's known as a Nor'easter, or a low-pressure system that spools up over the cold Atlantic waters just off the East Coast. They're usually associated with incredible blizzard conditions, but they can be just as vicious as a rain and wind event, acting much like a hurricane when they hit.
And the favorite target is that swath of the coast from Virginia to Massachusetts.
A Nor’easter is a storm along the East Coast of North America, so called because the winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast. These storms may occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most violent between September and April. Some well known Nor’easters include the notorious Blizzard of 1888, the “Ash Wednesday” storm of March 1962, the New England Blizzard of February 1978, the March 1993 “Superstorm” and the recent Boston snowstorms of January and February 2015. Past Nor’easters have been responsible for billions of dollars in damage, severe economic, transportation and human disruption, and in some cases, disastrous coastal flooding. Damage from the worst storms can exceed a billion dollars.
Nor’easters usually develop in the latitudes between Georgia and New Jersey, within 100 miles east or west of the East Coast. These storms progress generally northeastward and typically attain maximum intensity near New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. They nearly always bring precipitation in the form of heavy rain or snow, as well as winds of gale force, rough seas, and, occasionally, coastal flooding to the affected regions. The heavily populated region between Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston, the “I-95 Corridor,” is especially impacted by Nor’easters.
The U.S. East Coast provides an ideal breeding ground for Nor’easters. During winter, the polar jet stream transports cold Arctic air southward across the plains of Canada and the United States, then eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean where warm air from the Gulf of America and the Atlantic tries to move northward. The warm waters of the Gulf Stream help keep the coastal waters relatively mild during the winter, which in turn helps warm the cold winter air over the water. This difference in temperature between the warm air over the water and cold Arctic air over the land is the fuel that feeds Nor’easters.
Which is where it looks like this one will be doing its best to make life miserable for folks.
Virginia coastal communities are already feeling the effects of the tremendous amount of water being forced onshore by the counter-clockwise wind rotation. Norfolk, VA, has some flooding already.
NEW VIDEO: from Norfolk, VA, shows the growing impact of coastal flooding, as water inundated neighborhoods and covered streets. And this may only be the beginning, as conditions are expected to deteriorate further this weekend.#noreaster #vawx #flooding pic.twitter.com/xnHLXlsIPK
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) September 24, 2026
Highway 12 on North Carolina's Outer Banks is a washout.
Doesn’t look good for Highway 12 at Pea Island in Dare County on the Outer Banks; I’d be shocked if the pavement holds up overnight. #ncwx #noreaster pic.twitter.com/MEfX1eXq8A
— Ethan Clark wx (@EthanClarkWX) September 24, 2026
Barrier islands - it's what they do.
And beachside communities along the coast are literally battening down the hatches, as the computer models shifted the track ever closer to the coast over the past couple of days. That was dreary news, indeed.
Brother Bingley in New Jersey was busy tying down the top of his firepit as the winds had already begun to freshen. As you can see from this video, the Jersey Shore seas were pretty feisty last night, too - already jumping the seawall in places. It's only going to get much worse.
Serious wave action tonight in Wildwood, New Jersey, as a rare early season Nor’easter ramps up along the East Coast. Waves are already crashing over the seawall and spilling into city streets, and this event is just getting started. Conditions are only expected to deteriorate… pic.twitter.com/SLJNUxqOPY
— Jaden Pappenheim (@PappenheimWx) September 25, 2026
This morning, they are so angry.
🌊 MASSIVE 10–15 FT WAVES POUND NORTH WILDWOOD SEAWALL AS NOR’EASTER STRENGTHENS 🌊
— Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers (@ChicagoMWeather) September 25, 2026
Massive waves are hammering the North Wildwood Seawall area in Wildwood, New Jersey, this morning around high tide. 🌊💨 Waves estimated around 10–15 feet offshore are rolling directly toward the… pic.twitter.com/QpzIgnw9WZ
The view from the top of the 120-foot-tall Montauk Lighthouse this morning is already pretty spectacular. The lighthouse keeper says he figures the waves are already somewhere around 12-15 feet high.
He pops outside to get the video, saying that because the wind was so high already, he was going to hold tight to his phone, 'So it doesn't end up in New Jersey...'
#StormWatch: #Montauk lighthouse keeper Joe Gaviola says he is "really concerned" about the high tides as the area braces for an incoming #noreaster. - https://t.co/UgpjDugvEB pic.twitter.com/zpIibnXQTU
— News12LI (@News12LI) September 25, 2026
This forecaster ran down five of the touchstone cities that will be affected by the weekend's big blow.
5 cities in the path of the nor'easter, & impacts (video)
— Geoff Cornish (@StormOfCorn) September 25, 2026
Updates:@LeslieHudsonWx - VA Beach:https://t.co/64SrWCVvHP@BillWadell - Cape May:https://t.co/uco1FtDtGY@aaronjayjack - Cape Cod:https://t.co/9KJdTe9jT4
Lake Tahoe tree mystery, $ reward:https://t.co/wB2fyuvmff pic.twitter.com/Zy0La0igRV
And hopefully most residents know what to do.
Besides Bingley in Jersey, what got me thinking was a video I saw this morning of folks trying to get off Nantucket on that last ferry out. I was kind of surprised because I thought they were all hearty seafaring folks there once all the tourists left, but I guess not.
Anyway, according to the Nantucket Current (whose name you might remember from my posts covering the wind turbine blade that shattered two years ago), they were watching everyone line up, and things turned so spicy with people cutting line, they had to call police in.
On Nantucket!
This was the line to get on the Steamship Authority freight boat leaving Nantucket this morning. It is one of the few, maybe the only, chances to get off the island today due to the high winds.
— Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) September 24, 2026
Nantucket Police had to be called due to disputes over people cutting in line. pic.twitter.com/DVbTdmV9ps
This might as well have been a Spirit Airlines queue for as rude as they were.
...While many ferries were canceled on Thursday, including all of the island's fast ferry trips, two of the Steamship Authority's new freight boats - the M/V Aquinnah and the M/V Monomoy - were both in service carrying vehicles and passengers back and forth between Hyannis and Nantucket. The situation led to a massive line that wrapped around the terminal building on Steamboat Wharf on Thursday morning, and prompted calls to Nantucket Police to resolve disputes about people cutting in line:
Harbormaster Sheila Lucey said on Tuesday that the dinghy docks at the town pier are closed until further notice, and that she is “encouraging all mariners to stay off the water until the wind subsides.” The Children’s Beach boat ramp was closed at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Nantucket Harbor is now nearly empty as hundreds of boats have been hauled out over the past few days ahead of the storm.
And BLECH.
No way would I be on that boat.
And there she goes! #VomitComet pic.twitter.com/v89OIkNZog
— Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) September 24, 2026
As their weather guru said:
...“Gonna be a ride for sure,” WBZ meteorologist Eric Fisher told the Current about the storm’s impacts on Nantucket.
If you're in for the wet, windy ride, stay safe and get those blowaways secured in the yard (My World Famous Hurricane Preparation Tips are applicable to nor'easters, too).
And don't come out until the wind stops!
Settle in, have a flashlight handy...and a cocktail. It's the weekend.
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