Winds, waves, Joaquin take aim at beaches

Hurricane Joaquin may be heading out to sea, but the Shore is in for a significant coastal flooding and perhaps its worst siege of beach erosion since the 1990s.

Meanwhile, heavy rains through the weekend could set off flooding elsewhere.

The Jersey shore was pounded with winds and high surf at high tide around noon, but officials said the event produced localized flooding typical with nor'easters and not the dangerous situation they had feared.

Still, the storm exposed vulnerable areas still not rebuilt post-Sandy, like the inlet end of Atlantic City, which during Sandy became famous for photos of the broken Boardwalk in the street.

What's more, the Shore is expected to endure near tropical-storm level onshore winds that are likely to generate beach erasing waves into early next week.

"It's going to produce a lot of erosion," said Stewart Farrell, coast expert at the Stockton University of New Jersey. He said it could rival that caused by a procession of nor'easters in January and February 1998 and the Halloween "perfect storm" of 1991.

He said his crews will be conducting beach surveys on Tuesday, when the winds are forecast to die down.

The winds are the result of a storm in the Southeast - north of Joaquin - and high pressure to the northeast.

To make matters worse, as Joaquin moves northward, it will add to wave heights, Farrell said.

Late Friday morning, waves up to 18 feet were reported 25 miles southeast of Cape May, according to Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for the Delaware and Jersey shores and a tidal flood warning on the Delaware River up to northern Bucks County.

In addition, a high wind warning has been issued for Cape May and Atlantic Counties. Gusts greater than 45 mph are expected.

The forecast for Philadelphia today calls for rain, heavy at times, with rain or drizzle Saturday and a chance of rain on Sunday.

Highs will be in the mid-50s today and Saturday and in the mid-60s on Sunday.

Here's the latest of what you need to know about the impact of the weather:

ROADS

Roadways are wet and ponding is a problem in some areas. The speed limit has been reduced to 35 mph on the Walt Whitman Bridge. The speed limit has been reduced to 40 mph on the Delaware Memorial Bridge due to winds. Officials are telling motorists to not drive on flooded roadways. Streets are flooding at the Shore. Both the White Horse Pike (US 30) and Black Horse Pike (US 40) into Atlantic City are reported to be flooded.

MASS TRANSIT

SEPTA: Regional Rail trains may experience delays of up to 15 minutes due to the weather.

PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Due to low clouds, some arriving flights are delayed an average of one hour, 42 minutes and this in turn may cause residual departure delays. Contact airline for status or go to www.phl.org.

CANCELLATIONS

A number of outdoor events have been canceled, including this weekend's MS City to Shore charity bike ride from Cherry Hill to Ocean City.

In Roxborough, the "Roxtoberfest" has been rescheduled for Oct. 10.

Opera Philadelphiia has rescheduled Opera on the Mall for Friday, Oct. 16.

Haddon Township canceled its annual block party, which was set for Saturday.

You should check before leaving to see if your event has been affected.

The Susan G. Komen three-day walk for the cure is still on.