Bryan Norcross: Damaging nor'easter delivers one more punch Monday while we watch tropical Atlantic

The relentless Nor'easter is in its final stages, though today's midday or afternoon high tides are forecast to be the highest of the storm in some locations. By the high tide cycle overnight, levels will be somewhat lower, and the winds should have subsided substantially. Some rain will linger along the coast into tomorrow, especially in southeastern New England.

The system is stretched south to north along the East Coast with two centers of low pressure - one off the North Carolina coast and one near the Jersey Shore. This accounts for the two areas of significant rainfall. The one near the Carolina coast produced flooding rain, and the other pushed moisture into New England.

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In many spots from Virginia to Long Island, New York, water levels have been running 2 to 3 feet above normal, and slightly higher in a few spots. That's enough to cause moderate to major flooding, which will continue today. Remember, this is saltwater flooding, which is terrible for your car. Don't drive through it, even if you know it’s shallow – which sometimes you do not. Try to wash the underside of your car if it's exposed to saltwater.

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Here are the hazards today in the Tri-State area around New York City. The worst flooding is predicted at high tide early this afternoon in the neighborhoods near the water on the western half of Long Island. But the tide will be high elsewhere as well.

Major flooding is predicted along a long stretch of the Jersey Shore at high tide early this afternoon with moderate flooding far up the Delaware River due to the push of the storm holding back the flow of the river.

The flood threat is receding around Chesapeake Bay, but it’s not completely over.

And in North Carolina, the Outer Banks and nearby areas continue to be threatened at high tide.

The two low-pressure centers will merge as the overall system moves offshore tomorrow. Late in the week, there's a slight chance that the resulting system will take on some tropical characteristics over a somewhat warm patch in the North Atlantic. It would be a footnote in the record book, but that's all.

In the tropical Atlantic

The robust tropical disturbance tagged Invest 97L has become Tropical Storm Lorenzo. It’s no threat to land.

The system is forecast to track north and loop in the Atlantic by a number of the computer models – just for amusement.

Behind that, a system that moved off Africa yesterday is at a very low latitude. Various computer forecasts show it in the vicinity of the eastern Caribbean islands in about a week. Currently, the general consensus is that it won't be very strong at that time, but obviously it deserves attention.

A number of the long-range computer models show the system strengthening in the Caribbean next week. That would be unusual this time of year, but we’ll see.

South Florida front

The complex nor'easter system was strong enough to push the cold front through Florida Saturday evening, but some moisture lingered over the southern tip of the state. Dewpoints, a measure of moisture in the air, dropped into the pleasant 60s yesterday morning but inched back up in the afternoon.

Surprisingly, that residual moisture combined with the strong dip in the jet stream that energized the low-pressure center off North Carolina to produce moderate rainfall across parts of South Florida yesterday afternoon.

The front pushed a bit farther south again last night, though there is still some leftover moisture over the southern peninsula, so some showers could develop again this afternoon. 

Another front is due at the end of the week, but it’s not clear that that one will be strong enough to finally push the tropical air completely out of the state either.