Tropical Storm Elsa moves up East Coast, bringing flash flood threat to millions of Americans

More than 50 million Americans remain under a flash flood watch on Friday as Tropical Storm Elsa moves up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds.

More than 50 million Americans remain under a flash flood watch on Friday as Tropical Storm Elsa moves up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. After making landfall in Florida and pummeling the southeastern United States, Elsa is heading north with the eye of the storm sweeping over the coastlines of Delaware and New Jersey early Friday morning before it is expected to hit New York later in the morning and then Massachusetts by the afternoon, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service. As of 5 a.m. ET, Elsa was moving to the northeast at 31 miles per hour with its center located about 5 miles southwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour. The National Weather Service said it doesn't anticipate a significant change in Elsa's strength through Friday and that the storm, which has weakened from the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic season, is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone by nighttime, when it is expected to head into Nova Scotia and then out to sea.