Rain totals add up fast and furious this morning with torrential downpours promoting lots of ponding on the roads and quite a bit of standing water in some yards. We even had reports of flash flooding across southern Bristol County in parts of Fall River and New Bedford. Most towns end up with 2-3″ of water in the rain gauge, with isolated 4″ amounts possible.
The steadiest of the rain ends late morning, and that’ll allow for more manageable dreary day ahead with occasional showers and drizzle leftover for the afternoon. Since rain becomes more of the hit or miss variety, you may actually be able to run an errand or two without dodging fast falling drops if you time it right.
With all the water that has fallen overnight, and occasional showers ahead, we still need to keep an eye on the potential of minor river flooding. The North Nashua River in Fitchburg is approaching flood stage this morning, and the Sudbury River in Saxonville may come close to flood stage as well. The river levels were rather low before this storm, so they’ll be able to handle most of the incoming water. That’s why we’re talking minor flooding issues and not something more.
Along the coastline, winds start picking up this afternoon and evening too, gusting 30-40mph from the north to northeast by this evening. That continues Monday as well as the area of low pressure slowly wobbles off our coast. Tides are astronomically on the higher side, and with the storm turning up the surf, any additional storm surge will produce minor coastal flooding and beach erosion today and Monday during high tide. The first tide to watch is the noon one today. With this in mind, there is a coastal flood advisory in place.
Another aspect of this storm is colder air working in tonight and Monday. That allows for some sleet, freezing rain and even some snow flakes to mix in across northern Worcester County, northwest Middlesex County and southwest NH. I don’t expect much, but a coating of snow/ice could create some slick condition out that way.
The pattern breaks by mid-week, allowing for nicer weather Tuesday – Thursday with temperatures milder inland vs. the coast.
At this time, I expect temps in the mid 40s at Fenway Park for the Sox opener with an onshore breeze. We’ll watch a disturbance to our west that brings in the potential for either afternoon, or end of the day showers, but at this point, it’s certainly not set in stone. If high pressure is strong enough, the rain misses south of us.
Of course we’ll keep you updated on air and online, including through twitter – @clamberton7