lysine superstitious: Nor'easter threatens 'flying debris,' foot of snow

Sea Bright, N.J., is among the areas fearing new flooding on Wednesday. Katy Tur reports.

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

Updated at 2 p.m. ET:?A nor'easter dubbed Athena moved Wednesday into areas battered by Superstorm Sandy, causing new power outages and threatening to dump up to 12 inches of snow, flood coastal areas again and even turn debris from Sandy into projectiles.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Men search through donated clothes and supplies as a road begins to flood Wednesday in the Rockaways section of New York City.

Some 1,200 flights were canceled across the Northeast, while residents of a few areas hit hardest by Sandy were urged to evacuate.

Gusts up to 60 mph were possible along the New Jersey coast and in the New York City area, according to the National Weather Service.

"One of the bigger concerns ... would be the debris that's been piled up from all the residences and the businesses waiting to be picked up and collected," Kevin O'Hara, police chief in Point Pleasant, N.J., told The Weather Channel.

From weather.com: Storm's city-by-city forecasts

"With winds picking up to 30-, 40-, 50-mile-per-hour gusts," he added, "our fear is that if people are out and about they could be hit by flying debris. We would urge people to stay in their houses, stay home, and let the storm pass."

A storm surge of up to four feet at high tide is also possible, NBC meteorologist Al Roker said from Point Pleasant Beach, where crews were building a mile-long sand berm to protect homes behind the eroded beach.

NBC's Al Roker takes a look at the impending nor'easter that is expected to bring a storm surge and snow along the Sandy-ravaged New York and New Jersey shorelines.

"It's not a massive nor'easter by winter standards, but at this time of year immediately after Sandy's wrath and destruction, this isn't what we want,? added Weather Channel expert Tom Niziol.

"Mother Nature is not cutting us a break along the East Coast," he said. "We've got a lot of cold air in place down in the lower part of the atmosphere, and it is looking more like snowfall event for good portions of New Jersey, up through eastern Pennsylvania, right up through southeastern New York into New England."

The Weather Channel -- which dubbed the nor'easter Athena as part of its new policy to name winter storms -- was forecasting three inches of snow in Philadelphia with wind gusts over 30 mph, a combination of wet snow and wind in New Jersey, and snowfall totals of six to 12 inches in southeastern New York and New England.

NBCNewYork.com's coverage of nor'easter

Already early Wednesday, a mix of snow and sleet fell but didn't stick on Atlantic City, N.J., and gusts up to 35 mph were felt along the Jersey coast,?the National Weather Service reported.

Light snow was falling, and in some places sticking, across the Philadelphia area, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported.

In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday ordered police to use their patrol car loudspeakers to warn vulnerable residents about evacuating.

Fearing winds could down more trees, the city also was closed all parks, playgrounds and beaches at noon Wednesday, and ordered all construction sites to be secured.

Tuesday evening, Bloomberg ordered three nursing homes and an adult care facility evacuated from Queens' vulnerable Rockaway Peninsula. About 620 residents were moved.?

In New Jersey, Brick Township and Middletown ordered mandatory evacuations of the most vulnerable areas.

Airlines cancel flights ahead of nor'easter

Sandy killed more than 100 people, mainly in New York City and New Jersey, and left more than 8 million homes and businesses without power.

Wednesday morning, some 651,000 customers were still without power -- the majority in New Jersey. And 3,000 new outages across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast were reported due to the nor'easter.

Fearing looters, Alex Ocasio told The Associated Press that he planned to ride out the latest storm in his first-floor Rockaway apartment ? even after seeing cars float by his front door during Sandy.?

As the water receded during Sandy, men dressed in dark clothes broke down the door and were surprised to find him and other residents inside, he said.

Full NBC coverage of Sandy's aftermath

"They tried to say they were rescue workers, then took off," he said.?

He put up a handmade sign ? "Have gun. Will shoot U" ? outside his apartment and started using a bed frame to barricade the door. He has gas, so he keeps the oven on and boils water to stay warm at night.?

"It gets a little humid, but it's not bad," he said. "I'm staying. Nothing can be worse than what happened last week."?

The Associated Press contributed to this report.