Zeta brings heavy rain to New York area

NEW YORK - The remnants of Tropical Storm Zeta are moving across the eastern United States, bringing heavy rain to the New York area on Thursday and Friday. Some areas could get between 2 and 4 inches of rain.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for areas along the Jersey Shore and the Delaware River in New Jersey through Friday at 10 a.m.

"The remnants of Zeta will move through the region today, bringing several waves of heavy rain from late this morning through this evening. Storm total rain of 2 to 4 inches is possible across the watch area," NWS said. "This could lead to overland and road flooding as well as small stream flooding."

The rainfall engulfed fallen leaves in Westfield, N.J., Oct. 29, 2020. (FOX 5 NY photo/Luke Funk)

A Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect for parts of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County in New York; Hudson, Essex, and Union counties in New Jersey; and Fairfield County in Connecticut for Friday morning.

"Minor flooding is expected in the more vulnerable locations near the waterfront and shoreline," NWS said. "Some roads and low lying properties including parking lots, parks, lawns, and homes and businesses with basements near the waterfront will experience minor flooding." (Story continues)

Con Edison said it has prepared for storm outages in its service area, especially in Westchester County, which could get heavy wind, rain, and possibly snow.

"Strong winds can knock trees and branches onto power lines, causing customers to lose service. Rain softens the ground and can make it more likely that trees will topple," Con Edison said in a statement. "Once it is safe to assess damage and begin restoration, crews will give priority to making repairs that will provide power to the most customers quickly, then restore smaller groups and individual customers."

Zeta was a Category 2 hurricane when it hit the southeastern Louisiana coast on Wednesday. Zeta was still a tropical storm late Thursday morning with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph about 100 miles northeast of Asheville, North Carolina. (Story continues)

Growing puddles in Queens, N.Y. (FOX 5 NY photo/Arun Kristian Das)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement that New Yorkers should take precautions for the next few days.  

"Northern parts of the state and higher elevations may see several inches of accumulating snow in local areas depending on the track of the storm," the governor's office said in a news release. "Southern areas of the state and lower elevations will likely experience an inch or more of rain and mixed precipitation, while New York City and Long Island could see up to two inches of rain and wind gusts of 40 mph."

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Read the Regional Weather Summary from NWS Upton, New York | EXCERPT: For tonight the rain will taper off momentarily, with another round of rain late tonight into Friday morning in association with a secondary low pressure system. The rain will change to snow across northern sections towards daybreak on Friday with little in the way of accumulation expected. Temperatures will fall into the 30s across northern sections, and the lower and middle 40s for the city and coastal sections. The winds will increase tonight resulting in wind gusts approaching 35 to 40 mph along eastern coastal sections.

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This story will be updated; refresh for the latest information. With AP, FOX News, and Storyful reports.