First Alert Forecast: Red Alert for powerful storm bringing heavy rain, wind, flood risk to Tri-State Area
Looking Ahead
A strong storm system is moving into the region and is expected to cause problems into Monday morning. This system has already produced damaging and deadly tornadoes in the Mid-South and will bring a plethora of hazardous conditions to our area as well.
Saturday and Sunday morning were just the calm before the storm.
Stream CBS News New York for live storm updates starting Sunday evening.
Alerts & Watches
A Red Alert remains in place through the morning hours of Monday.
A Flood Watch is in effect until 4 p.m. Monday. This includes the entire region.
A High Wind Warning began at 4 p.m. Sunday and lasts through 11 a.m. Monday for Suffolk County. Peak gusts of 60 mph are possible late Sunday night.
A Wind Advisory is in place for Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and the Jersey Shore. Gusts of 50 mph are possible late Sunday night.
A Winter Weather Advisory has been added for the highest elevations to the far north and west early Monday morning, with 1 to 3 inches of snow possible.
Timing It Out & Breaking It Down
As rain expands in coverage and increases in intensity, winds will also be increasing, gusting between 20-40 mph. Temperatures will surge into the 60s.
4 p.m. Sunday - 6 a.m. Monday: This is the main event window. Throughout this time frame, heavy rain and strong winds will ramp up. A few embedded thunderstorms are even possible.
Freshwater flooding is very possible, but so, too, is coastal flooding and beach erosion, as onshore winds pile waves along the coast. This would be particularly bad during high-tide cycles, and high tides will be running higher than average, due to the proximity of the New Moon on Dec. 12.
Winds may reach tropical storm force at times, with gusts between 40-60 mph. Coastal areas, especially on Long Island, are likely to see the highest gusts.
Then, as colder air filters in, our far northwestern suburbs start to see some snow. Temperatures sharply fall into the 30s and 40s with the passage of the front.
Rest of Monday: Though the heaviest rain will already be over for most areas, some lingering heavy bands are possible for eastern Long Island early.
As more cold air funnels in, all of the northwestern suburbs could see snow between the hours of 6-10 a.m. Accumulations will generally be in the coating to 3-inch range.
Final rain totals will average between 2-3 inches, with some pockets of higher totals, which are likely to be for areas south and east of the city.
Otherwise, the strong winds will continue all day, gusting between 25-40 mph. Highs in the low to mid 40s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and cool. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. The winds will still linger a bit though, gusting up to 25 mph at times.