The heavy rainstorm expected to pound the Big Apple and a swath of the Northeast on Wednesday — and which canceled the Yankees-Astros playoff game — could reach “bomb cyclone” status, forecasters said.

The nor’easter is rapidly intensifying off the coast of New Jersey and could come close to the criteria for the weather phenomenon known as bombogenesis — which occurs when the barometric pressure falls at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, Accuweather senior meteorologist Paul Walker said late Wednesday morning.

Torrential rain is expected to drench the city from 4 or 5 p.m. until 10 or 11 at night, Walker said. One to 2 inches of rain is expected, but some places could get as much as 3, according to Walker.

Wind gusts of 30 miles per hour, moving from the southeast, are expected during the storm, he said.

The grim forecast prompted MLB officials to scrap Game 4 of the ALCS between the Bronx Bombers and Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium.

The biggest concern with this storm is flooding, according to Walker.

“There’s a possibility of flooding with this rain coming in a short period of time, flooding in poor drainage areas on streets and highways and coastal flooding along the southern shore of Long Island,” he said.

On the back end of the storm, the coast of Long Island’s North Shore could see flooding Thursday, according to Walker.

But the heaviest rain is expected to end by Wednesday evening — and aside from showers in a few spots, Thursday is expected to be a dry, windy day. The winds will die down Thursday night into Friday, the meteorologist said.

After drenching the Big Apple, the system is expected to move to southeast New England — with Providence and Boston experiencing coastal flooding, Walker said.

Connecticut could take a beating too, local NBC meteorologist Bob Maxon tweeted.

“This is the real deal,” he wrote. “Prepare for an especially wild 12 hour period from 6 pm to 6 am. Pouring rain and damaging winds, thunder and lightning all possible. Minor coastal flooding too. Tree damage and power outages are possible in some areas.”

“A Powerful coastal storm will bring strong to damaging winds to #MA #RI #CT tonight into Thursday with strongest winds at the coast, especially #CapeCod & Islands,” the National Weather Service in Boston tweeted. “Very heavy rainfall as well with 1.5-3.0 inches likely. Some areas may see 4-5 inches!”

The storm won’t be a “big snow event,” but the highest elevations of the Adirondacks, the Catskills as well as the Green and White mountains could see a dusting, Walker said.

Storm systems like this one are relatively common for this time of year, he said.