Vacation Spoiler Storm May Batter Northeast Beaches

ACCUWEATHER.COM PRESS RELEASE:
Mid-Atlantic Storm Brings Days of Heavy Rain, Flooding
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — 8 September 2009 — AccuWeather.com reports the slow-moving storm causing drenching rain in the coastal mid-Atlantic could stall in the Northeast for days. The storm may be much more than a vacation spoiler.
Call it what you will, the storm is behaving like a tropical system. We don’t usually see a half a foot of rain from a Nor’easter. There is also banding of thunderstorms on its southern and eastern flank.
Heavy rain and flooding is the biggest threat from the storm. The slow moving system has already produced over six inches of rain in parts of eastern North Carolina. The area near Surf City, N.C. has received just over nine inches from the storm thus far!
The torrential rain has been drifting northward and will reach coastal Massachusetts by Wednesday. The downpours will envelope Ocean City, Md., Atlantic City, New York City and eventually, Providence.
While high pressure will protect northern New England much of the week, the same high may also trap the storm, prolonging the ordeal on the coast through the end of the week.
If the atmospheric road block takes shape, steady, heavy rain may expand inland over the mid-Atlantic and interior New England. Flooding problems may then expand inland in the worst case scenario.
If the storm is trapped look for the rain to spread inland Wednesday night into Friday. Downpours and travel delays may reach Philadelphia, Scranton, Albany and Worcester.
A general two to four inches of rain will fall from this point forward with the storm along the coast. However, locally over six inches or more can fall.
Onshore winds north of the storm are already causing problems. These issues include rough surf, numerous rip currents and beach erosion. While the winds are not terribly strong, on the order of 15 to 30 mph, it is the long duration event that will continue to cause the water to pile up on the coast, leading to coastal flooding.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski