Gale warnings in effect as big nor'easter begins march up East Coast

High winds, heavy surf and drenching rain began pounding part of the southern Atlantic coast on Friday, and some impacts from the big nor'easter will expand to the coastal Northeast through this weekend and into early next week.

Gale warnings are in effect along the coastline from South Carolina to Maine and storm warnings are in place along the North Carolina coast, which was recently battered by Hurricane Dorian.

In this Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, file photo, water from Roanoke Sound pounds the Virginia Dare Trail in Manteo, N.C. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)

After spreading rain eastward across the Deep South Friday night, the storm will strengthen along the Carolina coast while pivoting northeastward on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The difference in pressure between the strengthening storm and high pressure over the interior Northeast will create strong winds from the northeast and north.

Then, a second storm will ride quickly on the nor'easter's heels, and it is forecast to take aim farther north and focus on the Northeast next week.

Most severe impacts to be felt from coastal Carolinas to southeastern Virginia this weekend

The strongest winds are likely from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the capes of Virginia, near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. In this area, winds are expected to average 25-50 mph with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gust of 70 mph.

Winds of this strength can break tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages.

The persistent strong winds will push ocean, bay and sound water to levels that are likely to cause coastal flooding.

Large waves that build from the persistent winds will be a threat to small craft and lead to beach erosion and may damage roads on the barrier islands, including North Carolina Route 12 which was damaged during Hurricane Dorian.

"The heaviest rain from the storm will fall along the coasts of North and South Carolina, where rainfall is anticipated to average 2-3 inches with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches," AccuWeather Meteorologist Clay Chaney said.

"While the rain will be beneficial in most areas of the Deep South and along the coast, too much can fall in coastal areas too fast and lead to urban style flooding," Chaney said.

The combination of wind and rain along the Carolina and Virginia coastline will create AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the upper 30s to the upper 40s.

In contrast, much of the weekend will be dry and sunny across the interior South, including around Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Roanoke, Virginia. Although some rain will fall into the start of Saturday over parts of Alabama, Georgia and the interior Carolinas.

Impact in mid-Atlantic, southern New England to be less severe, but significant

Enough wind, waves and above-normal tides are in store to cause significant chill, minor coastal flooding and some beach erosion from Maryland and Delaware to New Jersey, southeastern New York state and eastern Massachusetts from the storm.

Wind-driven waves crash on a sea wall in front of Scituate Lighthouse in Scituate, Mass., Wednesday, March 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Strong winds are forecast to create RealFeel Temperatures in the 20s and 30s along the coast much of the time.

Conditions including the risk of some rain will peak from late Saturday night to Sunday night over the Delmarva Peninsula and New Jersey.

The rain is forecast to advance across eastern New York state and New England from late Sunday to Monday.

Some areas of eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, could be thoroughly soaked by the storm on Monday.

The storm would have to track a couple of hundred miles closer to the upper mid-Atlantic coast for rain and snow to fall over the central Appalachians and northern New England during Saturday and Sunday. Instead, these areas are likely to have a sunny, but crisp and cold late-autumn weekend.

However, during early next week, a disturbance is expected to feed into the coastal storm.

Precipitation, including some of the freezing or frozen variety, is forecast to fill in farther west over the mid-Atlantic, interior New England and the central and northern Appalachians.

This disturbance is the prior concern for a second storm to form and move northward along the coast. Instead, the two storms will tend to blend together over the Northeast. But, rather than a strong finish with a new round of high winds, the two storms are forecast to weaken.

Despite the weakening, lower temperatures are forecast to slip in at critical levels of the atmosphere with pockets of rain that can transition to spotty freezing rain and wet snow from late Monday night to Tuesday night.

During Tuesday, there is the potential for slow commutes on the roads due to black ice, especially in the northern and western suburbs from Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston.

Download the free AccuWeather app to get the latest updates on the storm and how it might affect your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.