Nor'easter Brings Flooding, Outages and Flight Cancellations to Northeast

A nor'easter, a powerful storm that forms along the East Coast, brought flooding and power outages to the Northeast on September 26, 2026. More than 88,000 homes and businesses were without power Saturday afternoon, down from a high of 119,000 earlier that day, according to Al Jazeera.

As of 1:07 p.m. ET on September 26, the remaining outages were concentrated in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, according to Reuters. Other tallies during the day put the regional total at around 100,000 customers. The number shifted as crews restored service and winds knocked out new lines.

The worst damage was along the coast. Roads in New Jersey flooded and some homes took on water, while low-lying areas across the Northeast flooded, according to PBS. Forecasters had warned that basements along the East Coast could flood.

Air travel was disrupted. About 425 flights were cancelled and 1,338 delayed on Saturday, according to FlightAware data cited by Al Jazeera. With roads hazardous during peak winds and tidal flooding, passengers had few backup options to reroute.

The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency on September 25 in counties expected to be hit hardest, including New York City. The orders came before a series of National Weather Service alerts that described a multi-day coastal and wind threat, not a brief rain event. The National Weather Service in New York issued a Coastal Hazard Message including a Coastal Flood Warning at 5:14 AM EDT on Saturday, September 26. A briefing at 6:21 AM EDT forecast strong winds, moderate to locally major coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents, high surf, and beach erosion. The Philadelphia/Mount Holly office issued a briefing at 3:00 PM EDT on September 26, and the Weather Service warned that gusty winds would keep moderate to major tidal flooding a concern into Monday, with dangerous boating conditions continuing.

National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec said the system is likely to bring high winds, high tides and possible heavy rain to the Northeast over the next few days. Oravec said nor'easters are not unusual as New England enters autumn, but the September 26 storm might be a little earlier than average for a big storm.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that anyone who goes in or near the water during the weekend is "literally gambling with their life." Musician Ed Sheeran's scheduled shows in Massachusetts on September 25 and 26 were cancelled due to the storm weather.

The broader context here is coordination under a slow-moving hazard. Emergency orders in two states, county-level targeting, and repeated briefings through Saturday point to management of overlapping risks: tidal cycles, surf and erosion, inland rain, and wind-driven outages. For dense coastal infrastructure, that combination strains power restoration, road clearance and flight recovery at the same time.

Looking at what this means for the next 48 hours, duration is the operative variable. A system that holds high winds and elevated tides through Monday extends exposure for basements, low-lying roads and the grid, even if the peak outage count has passed. The question for operators and local officials is sequencing: keeping waterways and beaches closed, holding crews in position, and timing transport restarts around tide and wind windows rather than a single all-clear.