Nor’easter Rains To Slow Holiday Traffic

Heavy rain will spread across New Jersey as the pre-Thanksgiving Nor'easter makes its full presence known.

Snow in the Chicago area (WLS TV)

Heavy rain from the storm will begin to fall in New Jersey this evening and continue into tomorrow dropping 2-4 inches before ending Wednesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for counties along the Delaware River including Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Burlington, Salem and Somerset starting at 7 p.m. through Wednesday afternoon when the heaviest rain will fall.

Temperatures will stay in the 40s and 50s into tomorrow morning before a cold front moves through and temperatures fall on Wednesday. The rain could end as some snow on Wednesday afternoon and roads could freeze up as the cold air moves in.

The heavy rain could lead to flooding in poor drainage areas and where sewers are covered by fallen leafs.

The National Weather Service has a Wind Advisory in effect for Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean, Monmouth, Cumberland and Burlington counties starting at midnight until 10 a.m. Wednesday morning for winds out of the south of 20-30 MPH that could gust to 50 MPH. Drivers are warned that the wind could cause them to lose control of their vehicles especially on bridges and elevated roadways. There could also be power outages from fallen power lines and tree limbs.

The precipitation will begin as freezing rain and some snow that could coat roads in north Jersey and the Poconos before turning to rain as warmer moves in; a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for those areas.

Even with rain expected in the northeast, fliers from Newark, JFK, Laguardia and Philadelphia will likely be affected by delays although no flight delays are yet reported by FlightAware.com. Delta Air Lines will allow those with tickets already issued for flights from Newark, JFK, LaGuardia, Philadelphia and most of its other northeast airports to change their flights that are going out on Wednesday the 27th without a penalty, and without a change fee.

As the storm moves east, the storm is expected to leave 5 to 8 inches of snow in Buffalo, more in the northern Adirondacks, and a winter storm watch was posted for central New York state with heavy rain expected in parts of the Hudson Valley. In the nation's capital, federal agencies opened Tuesday though the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the northern and western suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, amid forecasts of a light mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain that could be topped off by heavy rain

The Nor'easter will end with snow showers in all areas on Wednesday night which leave a quick coating.

The storm will affect those traveling away from New Jersey by car. The rain starts on Wednesday in eastern New England as well with possible snow in the interior areas.

Text WEATHER to 89000 for advisories and the latest on the storm as it develops.