A powerful nor'easter is sizing up New England, bringing the potential for heavy rain, high winds, power outages and very dangerous seas.
We'll let the National Weather Service tell you:
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Monday Morning Briefing:
The coastal storm that we've been talking about for the past few days is set to arrive today. There is a lot to talk about, so here's a rundown of the potential hazards. Check out the images below for more information.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. We'll do our best to answer them as soon as we can.
Winter Weather: Today into Tuesday
- Mix of snow, sleet, and some freezing rain expected across much of western and central MA and northern CT.
- Higher accumulations (2-4") expected across higher terrain near Berkshires and northern Worcester County. There could be as much as 1" of sleet in some areas.
- Less icing is expected than was previously forecast (now under 1/4 inch).
Wind: Strongest Later This Afternoon and Tonight
- East winds gust as high as 60-70 mph along the immediate eastern Massachusetts coast including Cape Ann, coastal Plymouth County, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island.
- Gusts of 40-50 mph expected elsewhere, except 30-40 mph in Franklin and Hampshire Counties.
- Strongest winds expected from late this afternoon into tonight, before winds subside quickly Tuesday morning.
Heavy Rain: This Evening into Tuesday Morning
- 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected, with the higher amounts in RI and eastern MA where locally higher amounts possible.
- Potential for significant urban flooding in RI and eastern MA, possibly flooding of small streams as well.
Coastal Flooding: This Evening and Tuesday Morning
- Pockets of minor coastal flooding expected along the eastern MA coast during this evening's high tide. A storm surge of around 2 ft is expected.
- More widespread minor coastal flooding is expected in the same areas with Tuesday morning's high tide, when there could also be pockets of moderate flooding. A storm surge of 3 to perhaps even 4 ft is expected.
- Most favored areas for moderate flooding include Newburyport, Scituate, and possibly Gloucester and Nantucket Harbor.
- Minor coastal flooding is also possible Tuesday morning along parts of the South Coast including Newport, Westerly, and Block Island. Coastal Flood Advisories may be issued for these locations later today.
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Snow isn't expected anywhere in our reading area. This is good, because 3 inches of precipitation can crank out 2+ feet of snow very easily. Throw in several hours of tropical storm force winds, and we'd be using that B Word which rhymes with lizard.
Instead, we'll get soaking rains, howling winds and pounding surf. The storm should produce 2 fierce tides before the winds shift. Prior to what we previously thought, winds are now forecast to be from the NE at high tide on Tuesday morning, which is bad news for anyone owning a beach house.
Tides are astronomically low, but that will be cancelled out by the 2-4 foot surge. The end result is equal to the worst full moon high tide of any month. After that, it's just a question of how big the waves are when they hit the shore. You can use the math from the chart up at the top to see how the tides will be altered by the surge.
The winds may also take down some power lines, especially when you get closer to the coast. You can check the wind forecast for your area in the picture at the bottom of this article.
Some more NWS stuff. We're doing watches and warnings pertaining to Duxbury, just because...
High Wind Warning
Areal Flood Watch
Coastal Flood Advisory (Monday)
Coastal Flood Watch (Tuesday)
As for us, we plan to take to the road for this storm. The surf will be better on the Cape at the height of the storm, but it might be more practical for us to work the Irish Riviera, maybe Scituate to Plymouth to Sandwich. I may not see my own house for two days.
We'll post our pictures as we get them. Anyone who wishes to contribute can reach us through our Facebook page. We love reader submissions. You're probably a better photographer than ol' Steve here, so you'd have a good chance of taking the best picture used in the article.
We'll be back with an update.
