Nor'easter kills one, floods coasts and grounds hundreds of flights in Northeast

A powerful nor'easter battered the Northeast coast for a second straight day on Saturday, killing at least one person, flooding shorefront streets from New Jersey to Long Island, and grounding hundreds of flights as heavy rain and hurricane-force wind gusts moved through the region.

New York City Housing Authority officials said a 56-year-old man was killed Saturday afternoon when a tree fell on him near the Cypress Hills Houses complex in Brooklyn. A swimmer was also reported missing off Robert Moses State Park on Long Island, according to local officials.

The storm produced wind gusts of 81 mph in Montauk, New York, and 66 mph in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, with widespread gusts of 40 to 60 mph across the coastal corridor, the National Weather Service's New York office reported. Rainfall topped two inches in several shore towns, with forecasters warning of four to five inches along the Jersey Shore and Long Island before the storm pulls away from the coast. Coastal flood warnings stretched from Maine to Virginia, affecting tens of millions of people across the region.

Moderate to severe tidal flooding accompanied Saturday night's high tide, which coincided with a Harvest Moon that amplified the storm surge. Streets flooded to more than a foot deep in Howard Beach, Queens, and in Freeport on Long Island, while officials reported roughly 10 feet of beach erosion at Bay Head Beach, New Jersey, according to CBS News New York. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said he was watching low-lying areas including Lindenhurst, Copiague, Babylon Village and Amity Harbor for potential flooding as the tide peaked.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill both declared states of emergency for coastal counties ahead of the weekend. "Stay out of the water," Hochul warned residents Saturday. "Anyone who goes in or near the water this weekend is literally gambling with their life."

The storm knocked out power across the region. Long Island's main utility, PSEG Long Island, reported more than 13,000 customers without power as of 5 p.m. Saturday, even after crews had already restored service to more than 61,000 others. In New Jersey, utility PSE&G reported several hundred customers still without power after restoring service to more than 41,000 homes and businesses earlier in the storm.

Air travel absorbed some of the heaviest disruption. Boston's Logan International Airport was hit hardest, with more than 250 cancellations Saturday, largely affecting Cape Air and Delta Air Lines flights. Nationwide, the Federal Aviation Administration recorded more than 2,300 delays and over 400 cancellations by Saturday evening, and airlines including United, American and JetBlue waived change fees for travelers flying in and out of affected Northeast airports through Sunday.

Forecasters said the storm, a rare September nor'easter fed by a deepening coastal low, was expected to pull away from the coast by Sunday morning, though residual coastal flooding and gusty winds were likely to linger into the morning commute before conditions clear by afternoon, according to Al Jazeera.

The missing swimmer at Robert Moses State Park had not been located as of Saturday night, and lifeguards and park officials urged beachgoers to stay off closed stretches of shoreline as rip currents and rough surf continued into Sunday.