A powerful storm capable of producing snow and severe weather across the country will also bring howling and potentially damaging winds across the Northeast during Thursday night, AccuWeather forecasters say. The increase in winds will also help usher in a dramatic spring preview in many areas.

“This will be a much different storm across the Northeast compared to what was seen recently,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dean DeVore. “While the region has seen bouts of cold weather, snow and ice over the past month, southerly winds associated with this storm will bring springlike conditions later this week.”

AccuWeather meteorologists are most concerned about the strongest winds that are set to arrive Thursday night and last into early Friday morning. This is when parts of the region could experience wind gusts up to hurricane-force (74 mph or greater).

“The highest winds gusts will arrive in areas from the Delmarva [Peninsula] to New York City early Thursday night before spreading into coastal southern New England later at night and into the early hours of Friday morning,” DeVore explained.

High wind watches and warnings have been issued for parts of Long Island up through eastern Massachusetts, including Boston. Gale warnings are in place for areas from offshore of Nantucket, Massachusetts up through coastal Maine. Gale watches have been issued for coastal waters from New Jersey down through the North Carolina Outer Banks.

As winds increase across the region into Thursday night, isolated power outages and coastal flooding will become more likely.

The threat will come as south to southwesterly winds sweep across coastal areas from the Delmarva Peninsula to New England and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. These strong winds will pile water along the coast and lead to coastal flooding along south-facing coasts.

High tides Thursday night will be the most likely time to see flooding in coastal areas, though there could still be more isolated areas of flooding outside of high tides, forecasters say. Pounding waves along the coast may also lead to property damage along the water's edge.

“Winds can gusts near or past 60 mph, especially along the south-facing shores of Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts,” DeVore said. “This is where the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust of 75 mph is expected to occur.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

Even the major cities along the I-95 corridor from New York City to Boston can see wind gusts of 40-50 mph, according to DeVore.

These winds can also down tree branches and lead to isolated power outages, even in areas inland across the Northeast. Residents will want to make sure outdoor items such as garbage cans and lawn furniture are secure or in an area protected from the wind.

“The mild winds will likely melt away much of the snow that fell with the storm over the past weekend across southern New England,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

Snowmelt is also a significant concern across the interior of the Northeast where the melting snow combined with heavy rain from the approaching storm is expected to lead to flooding concerns in much of the region.

Strong winds will not only be a concern along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts Thursday night. Gusts frequenting 40-60 mph are in store from Ohio and West Virginia to western Maine as well. At this force with even locally higher gusts, falling trees and sporadic power outages are likely. "The strongest winds across the interior are likely to be accompanied by heavy rain and even thunder and lightning as the leading edge of much colder air advances eastward," Sosnowski said.

Friday will still be a windy day as the next shot of cold air pushes into the region and sends temperatures plummeting once again. However, as the wind turns offshore and lessens, the threat of additional power outages and coastal flooding will subside.