Because more of these episodic rains are expected in the region, the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning, in effect from 2 a.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Monday.

In isolated cases, amounts of ten centimetres or more are possible, the weather service said.

With the moon nearly full and Hurricane Ernesto churning up the North Atlantic, a coastal flood warning has also been issued, predicting minor flooding along the tidal Delaware River through 5 a.m. Monday and for the Jersey Shore for the six-hour period beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday.

The weather service also warned of “dangerous surf rip currents” on Jersey and Delaware beaches as Ernesto, passing several hundred miles to the east, whips up those long-lasting waves.

“We’re probably going to have four to five foot waves and rip currents all over the place,” said Captain Paul Boardman of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. Impacts are expected to peak on Sunday.

He added that several beaches were closed due to a lack of staff as students went back to school, but otherwise urged bathers to stay near the lifeguard posts.

Showers moved into the region on Saturday and were expected to intensify early Sunday morning and continue into Sunday evening, said Alex Staarmann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly.

Like the rains associated with Debby, which inundated some areas with several inches of rain over a four-day period starting Aug. 6, the random downpours will be boom or bust, Staarmann said.

One difference this time, however, is that “we are not expecting a major storm,” he said. “The biggest danger will be the potential for sudden flooding.”

The weather service is forecasting one to three inches of rainfall overall, with rainfall amounts potentially higher in areas affected by heavy rains.

The rains were due to an approaching cold front and had nothing to do with Ernesto, he said.

He even said this “shitty weekend” could have been orders of magnitude worse if the eastward-moving front hadn’t helped keep Ernesto well offshore.