Long Beach keeping an eye on Hurricane Joaquin

Prepares for possible heavy rain and flooding throughout city

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Nearly three years after Hurricane Sandy devastated Long Beach, the city is keeping an eye on — and preparing for — the potential weather associated with Hurricane Joaquin, not to mention heavy rain that was already in the forecast.

The National Hurricane Center said that the storm is expected to continue to gather strength just northeast of the Bahamas during the next couple of days before it begins its northward run along the East Coast, and said that the system could reach Category 3 strength. Still, as of Wednesday, the agency said that forecasters are still divided over whether the storm will even make landfall on the East Coast, let alone hit the New York area.

Hurricane Joaquin's maximum sustained winds increased to near 85 mph, the agency said, and the storm is expected to strengthen over the next two days.

The city said that it is currently monitoring the impending storm, though forecasters say that Joaquin continues to intensify slowly, and a complicated atmospheric pattern makes its future track — including any potential landfall on the U.S. East Coast — extremely difficult to forecast.

Even if Joaquin doesn’t hit, forecasters say that residents should still brace for potential flooding and heavy rain from other systems over the next several days. The National Weather Service announced that consistent, heavy rain was expected to hit the area with the potential to cause localized flooding.

The agency has issued a coastal flood watch and advisory for the area through Friday and likely the weekend, bringing beach erosion and washover due to the five- to eight-foot waves. The agency also issued a high surf-advisory that will produce rip currents and localized beach erosion.

Some residents took to social media on Wednesday morning after Tuesday night’s heavy downpours, posting photos of the high tide nearly reaching the boardwalk in some areas.

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