NEW YORK – Millions of people across much of the East Coast were under High Wind Alerts on Friday, as the final leg of a coast-to-coast storm pounded the entire Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida and disrupted the busy holiday travel rush. More than 3,400 flights were delayed and more than 400 flights were canceled by noon Friday.
Ground stops and ground delays in excess of an hour were issued across Northeast airports, including Boston Logan International and New York’s LaGuardia Airport due to strong winds.
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While temperatures were in the 50s early Friday, a powerful cold front quickly moved into the Northeast as the storm system departs, sending temperatures plummeting into the teens in some places by dinnertime.
FILE – NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 12: A man holding an umbrella battles with powerful winds and heavy rain during the powerful nor’easter at the Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn, New York, United States on October 12, 2025. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for eight counties of the state and canceled the Columbus Day Parade in New York City after urging New Yorkers to continue to prepare as a strong coastal storm is set to impact much of New York beginning Sunday afternoon.
((Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
A burst of rain soaked the East Coast early Friday, with showers lingering into the late morning in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast before departing.
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There was even enough heat across parts of the Southeast that Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued over the Charlotte, North Carolina metro area Friday morning.
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The rain could lead to some isolated flash flooding across northern New England due to extra water runoff from snow-covered grounds.
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NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center issued a Level 1 out of 4 flash flood risk for an area covering northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine through Friday.
(FOX Weather)
The parent area of low pressure driving the coast-to-coast storm remained well within Canada, keeping the coldest air and snow locked to the north. However, there were some lake-enhanced snow showers on Friday for the lake-effect snow regions off Lakes Erie and Ontario, as well as the interior Northeast.
Powerful wind gusts to threaten East Coast holiday travel
Powerful wind gusts have been the hallmark of this coast-to-coast storm, after causing hundreds of thousands to lose power across the Pacific Northwest and Rockies earlier this week.
These strong wind gusts reached the East Coast Friday and could cause air travel disruptions across some of the country’s busiest airports during what is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.
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Winds increased as Friday progressed. The National Weather Service issued Wind Alerts across the Northeast, as well as across the Appalachians into North Carolina.
Wind gusts up to 60 mph swept through the New York City metro area through Saturday morning.
This latest storm bears out the long-range outlook from NOAA last month that forecast an active start to meteorological winter, due in part to the La Niña climate pattern.
Temperatures began to drop Friday afternoon when a cold front quickly moved in behind the departing storm system.
(FOX Weather)
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the rapid temperature drop may cause leftover rain to freeze, leading to black ice and dangerous driving conditions.
Temperatures reached the teens and 20s by Friday night, with low temperatures Saturday morning in the 20s and 30s across the region.
Freezing conditions are expected to depart quickly, beginning Saturday afternoon.
