Nor'easter floods Shore streets; inland threat eases

By Joseph A. Gambardello, Jacqueline Urgo and Anthony R. Wood

A nor'easter marching up the coast is disrupting air travel, making driving hazardous and causing street flooding at the Shore.

New Jersey State Police reported one person was killed in the crash of a van on I-295 in Logan, Gloucester County.

Even though rain amounts in and around Philadelphia have been less than anticipated, flights to Philadelphia International Airport are being delayed an average of 80 minutes because of the combination of wind, rain and cloud cover.

The FAA-imposed ground hold of flights bound for Philadelphia also could cause some delays for departing flights because of late plane turnarounds.

Fifty flights to or from PHL also have been canceled, according to flightaware.com

For latest flight information, contact your airline or go to www.phl.org

With the nor'easter drenching parts of the region, particularly near the Shore, where water has spilled into roadways, officials warned of the dangers of high winds.

But the National Weather Service has taken down the flood watches for Philadelphia and Chester, Delaware, Gloucester, and part of Camden Counties.

The heaviest rains have pivoted north and east of the region, said Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist in charge of the Mount Holly weather-service office, "a couple of hours faster than the general thinking yesterday."

By mid-morning, the onshore winds at the coast had shifted and were blowing from a northerly direction by midmorning.

Close to 2 inches of rain was measured at the Atlantic City Airport, but although rain fell heavily overnight in Philadelphia, the storm total so far is around a half-inch.

The rains have led to ponding and slippery conditions are making driving hazardous. A number of motor vehicle accidents have been reported around the region and some highways have been blocked by flooding.

A coastal flood warning is in effect for the New Jersey and Delaware coasts until 1 p.m. A flood watch remains in effect for Montgomery and parts of Bucks Counties, and a wind advisory has been posted for most of New Jersey.

In Ocean City, a steady wind and onshore flow kicked up the surf and created ferocious-looking waves along the beachfront.

But as high tide moved in along the Shore, the expected storm packed little punch.

So far.

Winds gusted along the boardwalk past 35 m.p.h. while back bays and wetlands were swollen with minor tidal flooding as seas ran about 10 feet above average thanks to the storm.

Streets and parking lots in lower lying areas around the barrier island and elsewhere at the shore also saw minor tidal flooding. Several such streets on Long Beach Island were temporarily closed.

About 1,000 homes lost power overnight along the Shore because of lines downed by winds and falling tree branches, according to utility companies.