A mix of sleet and snow late afternoon / evening will be followed by rising temperatures and heavy rain. Wind gusts may be up to 60 MPH, with the potential of power outages in our area. Please contact National Grid to report any power outages using the numbers below.
From Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
The National Weather Service in conjunction with the MEMA Agency Meteorologist continue to monitor a multi-hazard storm system set to impact the Commonwealth this evening through late Wednesday morning. While this system is expected to be primarily rain, cold temperatures along the highest elevations of the Worcester Hills and Berkshires are expected to see a brief stint of accumulating snowfall initially before snow changes over to rain by midnight tonight. Snowfall accumulations of 1-4 inches are expected, with the highest amounts occurring at elevations over 1000 feet.
The heaviest rainfall is expected to develop late tonight and persist through the early morning hours Wednesday. Widespread amounts of 2 to 3 inches are expected, with locally higher amounts up to 4 inches are possible. This amount of rainfall, combined with the heavy snowpack, will yield the threat for widespread instances of urban and river flooding across the state. The greatest threat for river flooding resides across areas north and west of Boston, where the highest snowpack from this past weekend was observed. Any clogged storm drains across local cities and towns will exacerbate urban flooding. A Flood Watch is in effect for much of the Commonwealth, excluding the Cape and Islands.
This system is also bringing potentially damaging wind gusts to the region. Widespread gusts of 45-55 mph are expected with higher gusts up to 65 mph possible over the immediate coastline, especially over Cape Cod and the islands. This amount of wind combined with the already oversaturated grounds, can result in numerous instances of downed trees and powerlines, which can result in widespread power outages.
The strong onshore wind from this system will also bring the potential for minor to perhaps pockets of moderate coastal flooding across the coastlines during the high tide cycle Wednesday morning. The greatest threat for coastal flooding, especially any moderate flooding, resides across the southern facing shoreline of the state. Beach erosion is also possible and more confined for the southern facing shoreline.
Drier conditions are expected for Wednesday afternoon through Friday. Wind gusts will gradually diminish throughout the remainder of the day Wednesday, dropping below 40mph by Wednesday afternoon. However, another, similar, system is expected to once again, impact the Commonwealth overnight Friday into Saturday, which can bring renewed threats for flooding and power outages.
- Potential for downed trees/ power lines causing power outages.
- Potential for significant street, river/ stream flooding
- Dangerous sea conditions for vessels.
- Hazardous travel conditions
A message from National Grid:
National Grid is well prepared for the winter storm that is set to hit our region tonight into Wednesday. This storm has the potential for peak wind gusts up to 60mph, snow, and heavy, flooding rain. A high wind advisory has been issued for the Merrimack Valley and North Shore regions. Our internal, contractor and forestry crews are in place and ready to respond to 911 emergencies, public safety issues and customer outages where it is safe to do so.
National Grid Customer Service or Outage Reporting hotlines (provided below). Every phone call received is logged into our outage tracking system and better enables us to pinpoint the location of the issue. The sooner that we can identify the location of the issue, the quicker we can respond.
- Electric Customer Service: (800) 322-3223
- Outage Reporting Hotline: (800) 465-1212
- Natural Gas Customer Service: (800) 640-1595