Coastal storm stays south

Above: The cloud deck from the coastal storm and smog along with a thick frost along the South Shore of Montreal this morning. Below: The remains of Ida form a big coastal storm off the mid-Atlantic coast.

The big east coast storm that continues to batter the region from the Carolina's north to New Jersey will begin edging towards our region today. Already sat photos are showing the cloud deck moving into southern Quebec. Clouds will continue to lower over the next 24 hours before rain moves in Saturday. Montreal will remain on the western edge of the storm and therefore we are only expecting light rain.This is not the story along coastal areas where heavy rain and strong winds have produced serious flooding and damage. Thousands are without power in Virginia and North Carolina. The Outer Banks have been hammered by successive high tides producing major flooding. NC 12 is closed on Hatteras Island from Oregon Inlet to Rodanthe. It may reopen later today as the storm slowly moves north. Storm warnings and coastal flood warnings are now posted as far north as Cape Cod. Heavy rain will overspread New England tonight. In Norfolk major flooding has occurred along the coast, and power is out as winds gusted to near hurricane strength yesterday.