Season’s first nor’easter to blast East Coast

Hurricane Willa may be gone, but some of its remnant energy and moisture will help fuel the first nor’easter of the season for the East Coast this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Power outages, travel delays, flooding, rough surf and widespread “miserable conditions” are all likely from the storm, AccuWeather said. Rain and wind will spread up the East Coast Friday through Saturday night or early Sunday, weather.com said.

The worst weather will be from from Virginia to Maine. “At this time, it looks like this storm will bring a general 1-2 inches of rain and a period of 40- to 50mph wind gusts to the coast,” according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Dombek.

Nor’easters – named for the direction from which their winds blow – are most common from fall through early spring. In winter, they can become notorious powerhouse snowstorms, sometimes crippling big East Coast cities.

Since it’s only October, however, most of the precipitation that falls this weekend will be rain. Some of the higher elevations of northern New England and the interior Northeast could see some wet snow from the storm.

The combination of rain, wind and a low cloud ceiling is also likely to lead to airline delays and slow travel on highways, AccuWeather said.

Even before the nor’easter lashes the East Coast, the South will see a soggy couple of days as the remnants of Willa merge with other weather systems. After a rainy day Wednesday in waterlogged Texas, the heaviest rain Thursday will be along the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Florida.