Nor'easter Poised to Wallop NJ, NY Tomorrow

That's it, Mother Nature: You're off New York and New Jersey's Christmas card lists. The National Weather Service is now warning that a brewing nor'easter could bring sustained winds of up to 40mph and gusts of up to 60mph to the storm-battered region, causing yet more power outages and "minor to moderate coastal flooding," the New York Times reports. The storm is expected to strengthen as it moves up the coast today, hitting the Mid-Atlantic tomorrow. Brick, New Jersey has already ordered a mandatory evacuation for its 75,000 residents, CNN reports.

The impact could be especially strong because of the damage already wrought by Sandy. New York's coastal dunes have been worn away, leaving it potentially vulnerable to storm surge. New Jersey's soil, meanwhile, is already saturated with water, making flooding more likely, NBC points out. "The shore is ultra-vulnerable right now," a New Jersey climatologist tells the Star-Ledger. "And it's not just the shore. The whole infrastructure is being pieced back together." And there's more bad news for people without power or heat: Wind chill temperatures are expected to plunge into the 20s and 30s. (More New York City stories.)