Another stormy blast on tap
On heels of winter’s first snow, region told to prepare for high winds, heavy rains, flooding
‘[Wednesday morning] there could be fairly large puddles on area roads.’ ALAN DUNHAM National Weather Service meteorologist
HAVERHILL — As residents here and across the state dug out from the winter’s first major snowstorm, forecasters on Monday warned that a blast of rain and wind is on the way.
The National Weather Service issued a high wind and flood watch that will be in effect from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 1 p.m. Wednesday for most of the state. The snowmelt, combined with heavy rain, could lead to river, stream, and coastal flooding, forecasters said.
With the possibility of winds as strong as 40 miles per hour and gusts up to 60 miles per hour, downed trees and power lines could result in power outages and difficult travel conditions, forecasters said.
“The calm after ... and before the storm,” forecasters wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “While this weekend’s snowmaker has moved out to sea, we are gearing up for an impactful wind and rain maker [Tuesday] night and Wednesday.”
Greater Boston could see more than 2 inches of rainfall, and Southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island could get closer to 3 inches, said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“One of the big problems will be during the Wednesday morning commute,” Dunham said. “There could be fairly large puddles on area roads.”
Tuesday will begin dry, with the heaviest weather expected to come in the late evening and during the overnight hours, forecasters said. Parts of Western and Central Massachusetts
could see up to 3 inches of snowfall before it switches to rain. Rainfall, with periodic downpours, is projected to continue in the Boston area up to late Wednesday morning, before giving way to a mix of clouds and sun, according to the Weather Service.
Wind gusts are projected to reach up to 50 miles per hour in the Boston area and grow stronger along the South Coast and onto the Cape and Islands, with gusts higher than 60 miles per hour expected in Hyannis and on Nantucket, according to the weather service.
Forecasters said snowmelt will be “a huge player” in the threat of flooding overnight into Wednesday. In a social media post, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency asked residents to check storm drains near their property and clear away any snow or other debris to allow rainwater to flow off the street.
In Haverhill, a city on the New Hampshire border, residents awoke Monday morning to a whopping 18 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. In Massachusetts, only Lunenburg, with 18.8 inches, and Tyngsborough, with 18.2 inches, got more, according to Weather Service figures.
In the downtown, snowbanks clogged sidewalks as cars pushed gently through slush, but a bluebird day had most people in high spirits about something that has been lacking in recent years: a proper snow.
“We haven’t had snow like this in years, so it was so pretty to wake up to,” Brynn Andrews
‘The last few times we were told there was going to be a ton of snow, there wasn’t, so I was surprised it actually happened.’ BRYNN ANDREWS, Haverhill resident, on city’s 18 inches of snow
said as she cleaned off her car in a lot next to her apartment building on the Merrimack River. “The last few times we were told there was going to be a ton of snow, there wasn’t, so I was surprised it actually happened.”
Andrews noted that she works from home, so “if I had to go out and drive in this, I might feel differently.”
Kevin Gregg would probably agree. He had pulled his white van into the alley next to a Salvation Army to drop off some donations, and that was about as far as he went. After slipping and sliding and going nowhere (except almost into a new Mercedes SUV parked next to him), he was trying to use a combination of car mats and a cutting board he found in the back of the van to get some traction. It wasn’t working.
Up the street at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Haverhill, Brandon Suero was trying his best to shovel through huge snow drifts that had buried the sidewalk out front.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this much, but it happens. This is New England. You have to expect it. But I didn’t think we’d get the most snow of anyone.”
Martin Lewis, who was trudging through snowbanks on Merrimack Street, said he was not surprised to wake to a wintry blast.
“The way it was coming down last night, I actually thought it was going to be a little bit more,” said Lewis, 53. “We haven’t had it in a while, so it’s nice to see. I’m happy.”