Significant winter storm heads toward disaster-hit NY, NJ

USPA News - A significant winter storm off the U.S. East Coast is likely to hit Sandy-battered areas of New York and New Jersey by Thursday, forecasters said on Sunday, warning that the nor`easter will have a greater impact than usual in the already devastated region. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the strengthening storm is expected to be off the coast of North Carolina by Wednesday morning before reaching the New Jersey and New York coasts on Thursday.

This could bring hurricane-force winds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometers) per hour to the region, with the strongest winds directly along the coast. The storm will likely also result in rain mixed with snow in northern New Jersey and east-central Pennsylvania, but forecasters said it is too soon for snowfall forecast amounts. "[We] will be able to be more specific (about snowfall) as we get closer to the event," the National Weather Service said. Temperatures already dipped to 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) early on Sunday morning in New York City, but the nor`easter could bring wind chill values in the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit (-6.6 to -1.1 Celsius) for much of the region during the height of the winter storm. "Moderate coastal flooding is possible with this storm along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey and Delaware. High tides Wednesday and Wednesday night are the ones to watch," the forecasters added. "Waves in surf zone will be 7 to 9 feet (2.1 to 2.7 meter). Moderate beach erosion is possible." While the storm will not nearly be as strong as Superstorm Sandy, authorities have called on residents in the region to be on alert. "The nor`easter will have a greater impact than usual because of the serious impacts from Coastal Storm Sandy," forecasters said in a weather briefing. Superstorm Sandy tore a path of destruction when it made landfall on the U.S. East Coast on Monday, killing at least 110 people and leaving more than eight million people without electricity. The storm churned across Pennsylvania on Tuesday on a path toward Canada, where two others were killed. The storm had earlier killed 70 people in the Caribbean.