Tropical Storm Elsa Douses Mid-Atlantic, Headed To New England

Tropical Storm Elsa is passing through the Mid-Atlantic to the East Coast, hitting New Jersey and New York City on Friday, the National Hurricane Center reported.

As the storm moves toward the eastern coast, heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding in urban areas, flood watches and warnings are in effect in many locations, Fox News reported.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect in areas where high winds could cause tree damage and power outages, including in Long Island and southern New England through the afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Elsa is moving northeast at around 31 miles per hour, according to forecasters.

Heavy rains in New York City caused traffic problems and flooded roads Thursday, including at least one subway station and the city could get up to 6 inches Friday, Fox News reported. Elsa isn’t supposed to change in strength and is estimated to transition to a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night.

The storm is likely to pass over the northeast by Friday afternoon and move to Atlantic Canada into Saturday, the National Hurricane Center reported.

A tornado in coastal Georgia injured nine people Wednesday at a campground for active-duty service members and military retirees, Fox News reported. One person in Florida was killed when a tree fell and hit his car Wednesday.

As of Friday morning, according to poweroutages.us, over 40,000 people were affected by power outages stretching from New Jersey to Massachusetts.