Tropical storm warning issued for New York as Fay looms

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the US coast from New Jersey to Rhode Island, including New York, as Fay heads north with winds of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour.

Heavy downpours and thrashing wind are in store for the Northeast from Tropical Storm Fay, which spun up off the coast of North Carolina Thursday.

Fay storm will be the third storm to hit the US in 2020 and the record sixth system named so far this year. (Reuters file photo)

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the US coast from New Jersey to Rhode Island, including New York, as Fay heads north with winds of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour. They are the first such bulletins issued since Superstorm Sandy struck the New Jersey coast in 2012, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.

The storm was about 105 miles south of Ocean City, Maryland, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 2 am New York time Friday. It should clip New Jersey midday Friday before powering up the coast for New York and Long Island Saturday and weakening over Vermont.

It will be the third storm to hit the US in 2020 and the record sixth system named so far this year.

“Fay will bring a few areas of moderate flooding due to heavy rains, but the storm will likely not cause significant damage,” Masters said.

From 3 to 5 inches of rain is expected across the Northeast, with some areas getting as much as 8 inches, the hurricane center said. Flash flood watches reach from Virginia to Massachusetts.

Fay is moving over warm Gulf Stream waters and its top winds could reach 50 mph before it comes ashore. A storm becomes a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph.