Rare fall nor'easter impacts Long Beach

Posted Friday, September 25, 2026 12:00 am

Waves were already churning Friday afternoon as surfers capitalized at National Boulevard beach before the nor'easter reached the area.

Chris Colucci / Herald photos

Kevin Montefusco of Valley Stream stopped at West Marina in Point Lookout, like many boat owners, to prepare for the weekend storm.

Chris Colucci / Herald photos

Long Beach LIRR Service Resumes

Long Island Rail Road service on the Long Beach Branch resumed Sunday at 10 p.m. after flooding from the weekend’s nor’easter forced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to suspend service.

The first train left Penn Station for Long Beach at 10:06 p.m. Sunday, marking the return of eastbound service to the branch.

Westbound service will resume Monday morning, with the first train from Long Beach to Penn Station scheduled to depart at 10:29 a.m.

By Jeff Bessen, Jordan Vallone & Chris Colucci

"This is NOT a storm on the magnitude of Superstorm Sandy," Long Beach City Council President Brendan Finn wrote in an emergency alert distributed Friday in advance of the unseasonal nor'easter. "But it is one we should all be taking seriously. Be prepared, remain vigilant and stay safe, Long Beach."

This weekend's weather forced the early cancellation of several local events across Long Beach, including the King and Queen of the Beach surf contest, Circulo de la Hispanidad's Walk for Peace and Arts In The Plaza on Saturday, as well as the Hispanic heritage kite flying festival planned for Sunday.

The storm delivered wind gusts reaching 55 mph while dropping more than 5 inches of rainfall through the weekend, creating major flood damage with tide height reaching up to 8 feet in the area. Along Ocean Beach Park, waters breached the entrance ramps and damaged several sections of stairs.

"We had flooding on the South Shore mainly south of Merrick Road," Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti during a Saturday mid-storm update.

Across Long Island, more than 1,150 trees and nearly 700 large branches were reported fallen, with the storm causing power outages to more than 124,000 homes. As of Sunday morning, PSEG -Long Island reported more than 6,100 customers still without power.

While the bulk of the storm has passed and moved farther out to sea, rain and hazardous conditions persist. Text 773454 to report power outages to PSEG Long Island. Dial 911 to report downed power lines, fires, or similar emergencies.

Residents are advised to sign up for emergency notifications via phone, text or email by registering for free here to receive official alerts before and during official emergencies.

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