Nor'easter to bring LI heavy rain, damaging winds, coastal flooding through Monday, forecasters say

Long Island is bracing for hazardous weather as a nor’easter is forecast to bring heavy rain, coastal flooding and damaging winds through Columbus Day, according to the National Weather Service.

Saturday’s forecast called for a 50% chance of rain overnight.

"Tonight, we’re going to look for some rain to start to develop, mainly after 11 or midnight," meteorologist Jay Engle said

The rain "really starts to get going" on Sunday, according to Engle, who said temperatures would remain in the mid-60s. The weather service has issued a coastal flood warning and high wind watch beginning Sunday afternoon.

"There are coastal flood warnings across all of Long Island," Engle said. "We’re looking at pretty much 2 to 3 inches across Long Island. The highest amounts are closer to 3 inches on the East End. Two inches west end. This is going to fall over a 36- to 48-hour period."

Engle said the flooding will mainly impact areas directly on the coastline, where high tides will cause inundation ranging from 1½ feet to 3 feet "above ground." 

The South Shore of Nassau County and southwest Suffolk County are expected to see the heaviest flooding, while moderate flooding is forecast for the coasts along western Long Island Sound. The East End is expected to experience the least amount of coastal flooding, Engle said.

Engle said the weather service expected only "minor urban and poor drainage potential flooding Sunday afternoon into Monday afternoon" in areas further inland. 

Coastal areas are also at the highest risk for damaging winds. The high wind watch will be in effect from noon on Sunday to 6 p.m. on Monday, according to a weather service update.

"The storm is going to take a little longer to settle down," weather service meteorologist James Connolly told Newsday Saturday evening. 

Suffolk County spokesman Mike Martino told Newsday the county would activate its "emergency operation center" on Sunday. 

"The emergency operation center is where we coordinate storms with all of the different agencies — everybody from LIPA, to the county, to EMS," he said. "That's where everybody goes during the storm so that everything is centralized and everybody is communicating at the same time."

Nassau County will activate its Emergency Operations Center at 8 a.m. on Sunday, according to a news release. 

Towns also are bracing for the storm and asking residents to remain off the roads, if possible, on Sunday.

Both Islip and Hempstead towns were clearing debris out of storm drains to allow water to run off more efficiently, according to Islip Town Department of Public Works Commissioner Tom Owens and Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti.

"Once we found out we might be getting a nor'easter ... we automatically went into storm mode," said Owens, who added the town started "prepping" its water pump equipment to remove any floodwaters that might build up.

Hempstead Town's emergency crews were all "on standby," Ferretti said. He told Newsday the town has prepared all needed equipment, such as chain saws to chop up downed trees, and are "ready to go." 

At the Mastic Fire Department on Saturday afternoon, volunteers began storm prep work by ensuring trucks were properly fueled, revving the motors of chain saws and inspecting vehicles like a marine incident response team truck.

Rudy Sunderman, assistant chief of the Mastic Fire Department, said, "Down by the Forge River is definitely a vulnerable area."

In the event of a high-water rescue, Sunderman said, the department can rapidly deploy a small, approximately 12-foot boat that is transported in a high-water rescue vehicle and can be used in shallow water. The department has about 90 volunteers, he said.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief executive Janno Lieber said wind was the "principal risk" of the storm during a news conference on Friday. He assured residents that "we pre-positioned the equipment, we make sure that we have the people to do the work, the preparations, overnight — to tie everything down, to make sure that everything that's at risk is prepared."

"My major concern is all of the leaves are on the trees, so the trees are like parachutes. So, if we get those 60 mph winds, we're likely going to have a lot of damage" Islip Town's Owens said. "Our main goal is to open up the roads so emergency vehicles can get through, and work along with PSEG because a lot of those lines will be live."

PSEG Long Island also said it is ready for the storm. The utility agency wrote in a Thursday news release that outages were possible, but "a full complement of personnel" would "mobilize for restoration in foul weather conditions." 

The winds are expected to be "sustained at 25 to 35 mph," Engle said, but "peak gusts" could get up to 60 mph.

Engle advised residents to put their Halloween decorations inside.

George Gorman, the regional director at New York State Office of Parks, said the state would shut down campsites at Wildwood State Park in Riverhead Town at 5 p.m. Saturday "to give campers who are there time to leave and seek safety." 

"The Wildwood campgrounds are an extremely wooded area with a tremendous amount of trees that are within that campground. So, we are concerned about falling branches, perhaps trees being uprooted," he said. "So, we're taking precautions to make sure no one gets hurt."

The state has taken steps to mitigate flooding at places like Jones Beach, where state staffers have "shored up the wall of sand in front of the central wall at Jones Beach [to] protect the infrastructure of the central mall," Gorman said.

The storm conditions are expected to subside by Monday night, according to the weather service. Temperatures are expected to remain in the low 60s through Tuesday.

"For Columbus Day, [there will be] rain, especially in the first half of the day," Engle said. "Some showers are likely on Monday night. And then some gradual improvement into the day on Tuesday."

Fire Island Ferries service will be suspended from 1 p.m. Sunday through Monday, and the Fire Island Water Taxi will not provide transportation on Sunday and Monday.

To move cars from areas that might flood, the Village of Babylon said residents can park in Babylon municipal lots. Officials also encouraged boat owners to check boat lines and make certain everything is secure at their boat slip.

"If we all work together, prepare for the worst and hope for the best, then we can certainly alleviate any emergency situations that might arise," said Ferretti, Hempstead Town's supervisor.

Newsday's Joe Werkmeister contributed to this story.