A nor'easter slamming New England starting Friday is expected to bring moderate to major flooding in coastal communities, snow, rain and dangerously high wind gusts.
Dual low-pressure systems are combining into one powerful storm as it slowly moves from near New York City to south of Nantucket today. Mixed rain and snow early this morning intensifies rapidly as it moves north and east.
Initially, snow is only in the higher elevations of northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and southern Vermont.
Very heavy rain will affect the rest of central and southern New England from southern Hampshire through eastern Massachusetts, most of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
TIMELINE: Tracking Late Week Nor'easter
Winter storm warnings are in effect for the higher elevations, flood watches are in effect for heavy rain elsewhere.
The biggest impact from the storm though is at the ocean. Coastal communities have flood warnings as record high tides may impact the shoreline right through the weekend.
The Jan. 4 storm brought a high tide of over 15 feet to Boston and this storm may do the same thing for three or four high tides beginning midday today.
U.S. & World
Wind at the coast is going to be sustained close to 50 mph, with gusts close to 80 mph. Rainfall amounts are forecast to be 2 to 4 inches, snowfall amounts in the mountains are forecast to be over a foot. Even in the coastal communities from Boston, to Newport Rhode Island, to New Haven, Connecticut, we may end up with several inches of heavy. wet snow late today and tonight.
Travel becomes very difficult, and scattered power outages are possible.
The storm moves away enough tomorrow that only the coast continues to feel a significant impact, with more heavy seas and flooding tides.
Otherwise, the weekend features a few breaks of sunshine and also scattered rain and snow showers, with temperatures mostly near 40 degrees.
A brief window of nice weather comes in for Monday and Tuesday, before a storm that is pounding the West Coast now arrives in New England next Wednesday or so, with more rain and snow.
