Update 9/27: Nor'easter gradually winding down, minor impacts still expected
Massachusetts is feeling the impacts from the nor'easter as the weather forecast calls for a long-duration wind and rain event this weekend.
The WBZ Weather Team is highlighting through Sunday for a NEXT Weather Alert due to a variety of potential impacts across the state, from wind, to flooding, to erosion.
There are some key forecast updates on the track and timing of the nor'easter.
This nor'easter remains to our south, but will take a very unusual path, making a hard left just south of Long Island and making landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sunday.
This is somewhat good news for southern New England as this path is the lesser of two evils. We will avoid a worst-case scenario had the track been a more classic nor'easter path.
The winds will peak through Saturday night.
Coastal flood watches have been elevated to warnings along the entire east coast of Massachusetts.
It is worth stressing that the most impactful weather this weekend will be along the immediate coastline. For the majority of those living away from the coast, say west of I-95, this will not be a memorable storm but more of an annoyance.
The heaviest rain, strongest winds and greatest risk of power outages are all expected to be within a few miles of the coast and over far southeastern Massachusetts.
This is going to be a long and drawn-out affair with several days of rain and wind.
Sunday: The rain will become somewhat lighter and spottier on Sunday. There will be off-and-on showers all day long with a few heavier, embedded downpours.
Monday: Scattered rain will continue early on, but the storm only slowly starts to pull away, leaving us with mainly light, spotty showers by the afternoon and evening. Western areas will likely begin to dry out late in the day.
It may take until sometime on Tuesday before most of eastern Mass. dries out and sees some sunshine.
We expect most of the area to receive between 1 and 3 inches of rain from the nor'easter. Highest amounts will be closer to the coast and over southeastern Mass.
Lower amounts are expected west of I-95 and well inland.
There could be some isolated rainfall totals between 3 and 6 inches. Again, the best chance of this would be in far eastern areas.
Given the recent drought status, the area can certainly soak up a few inches of water. The trouble comes if we get heavy amounts in a short period of time. There is a flood watch in effect until early Tuesday morning for central and eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island. Heavy bands of rain that fall over the same area may lead to flash flooding in poor drainage and low-lying areas, creating hazardous driving conditions. Small rivers and creeks may also rise quickly.
The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for coastal areas and a wind advisory for inland areas lasting through 2 a.m. Sunday.
We expect northeast wind gusts to peak between 50-65 mph over Cape Ann, Cape Cod and the Islands this weekend.
For the rest of the coast, we are forecasting 40-55 mph gusts.
West of I-95, less impactful winds in the neighborhood of 30-40 mph at worst.
Wind gusts over 50 mph have been reported along the coast and higher terrain and will continue to peak through Saturday night and then slowly will taper and shift direction during Sunday and beyond.
There is a decent chance of some scattered power outages where the winds will be strongest (again, immediate coastline, Cape, Islands).
This would likely coincide with the timing of peak winds through late Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning through Sunday night for several high tide cycles.
We expect widespread minor flooding at the coast with pockets of moderate. There will be 1-2 feet of water inundation and several road closures right at the shoreline.
High tide on Saturday occurs just before midnight. We are most concerned with that tide cycle because that is when the strongest onshore winds will be. Areas that saw coastal flooding Saturday morning are likely to see repeat flooding as persistent onshore winds will be pushing against the tide as it tries to recede allowing for more water to pile up at the time of high tide.
Tides will continue to climb astronomically on Sunday and early next week. However, the winds will be changing direction and also decreasing by then.
Wave heights at local beaches could reach as high as 8-12 feet with swells just offshore between 10-20 feet.
Again, the wave action will also peak on Saturday.
As always, we urge that you stay tuned to frequent forecast updates from the entire WBZ-TV NEXT Weather team. We've got you covered.
