A strong coastal storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Garden State Friday.

Although not as bad as initially thought, many towns in New Jersey did see periods of flooding, mostly in the state's four southernmost counties.

At a news conference held early Friday in Sea Isle City, Gov. Chris Christie told residents to be prepared to respond to flooding and power outages, and said that shelters will be available if needed. 

"Go to places you can be safe and warm, it's going to be colder tonight," the governor said. "It's going to get down into the 40s tonight. I don't want people who lose power staying at home if you can't be warm."

Gov. Christie declared a state of emergency on Thursday ahead of the storm and the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin impacted the region. The hurricane's path now seems like it will miss the East Coast entirely.

However, Friday's coastal storm did create some issues in the state. The National Weather Service issued coastal flood and high wind warnings for New Jersey Friday. Major inland flooding was not expected.

As high tide arrived, water breached the sea wall in some places in the state. Other areas saw floodwater in the streets.

Large waves slammed down on New Jersey's barrier islands. Large amounts of water and sand battered Seaside's famous boardwalk.

In Keyport, a large sailboat broke free from its moorings at the Keyport Yacht Club and beached itself at the marina. Wind gusts in Keyport got up to at least 40 mph.

The wind was equally strong in New Jersey, and caused flight delays at area airports. Luckily, the power grid in the state got by mostly intact with minimal power outages scattered throughout the state.

The heavy rains and winds were expected to last into Saturday morning.