East Coast Braces for Tropical Storm Fay, Flooding Reported Already

Update: Fay has been downgraded to a tropical depression and is expected to dissipate on Sunday. Read more here.

Tropical Storm Fay, which is currently barrelling up the mid-Atlantic, has already produced heavy rains on Friday as it moves northward along the East Coast.

Tropical storm warnings and watches, as well as flash flood warnings, advisories, and watches were in effect for much of the northeastern United States and the mid-Atlantic region.

“Tropical Storm Fay will bring heavy rain with flash flood potential, and isolated tornadoes to the Mid-Atlantic and New England,” according to the National Weather Service.

In some parts of New Jersey, street flooding was reported on Friday morning by locals in Stone Harbor.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 11 a.m. ET update that a tropical storm warning is now in effect from Fenwick Island, Delaware, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, including Long Island and Long Island Sound.

The agency noted that Fay is currently moving to the north at around 12 mph and is located 40 miles east of Cape May, New Jersey.

“A northward to north-northeastward motion at a faster forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Fay is forecast to move near the mid-Atlantic coast this afternoon and evening and move inland over the mid-Atlantic and northeast United States tonight and Saturday,” according to the NHC’s bulletin.

As the storm moves inland, it will weaken to a tropical depression on early Saturday, the bulletin said.

Fay’s main threat appears to be heavy rainfall, with 2 to 4 inches falling in and around “Delaware northward into New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southeast New York, and southern New England,” the NHC said. However, isolated totals of up to 7 inches could fall in some areas.

The rain could trigger flash flooding and urban flooding in places with poor drainage, although widespread river flooding isn’t anticipated, forecasters said.

Gusts of up to 50 mph in some areas can be expected, the agency said.

“Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles (220 km) from the center,” the agency said. “A Weatherflow station at Lewes, Delaware, recently reported a sustained wind of 40 mph (65 km/h) and a wind gust of 50 mph (80 km/h). A National Ocean Service observing site at Lewes recently reported a sustained wind of 40 mph (64 km/h) and a wind gust of 49 mph (79 km/h).”

Around nine people were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean near Long Beach on Long Island on Thursday, officials told ABC News. Four were taken to hospitals and one person died, officials said.

Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach noted that Fay is the earliest sixth-named storm on record.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30.