Round Two: Another Nor’easter Bears Down on Cape & Islands

HYANNIS – The Cape and Islands are bracing for wind and rain as the second nor’easter in less than a week bears down on the region.

Forecasters predict the storm to ramp up during the day Wednesday and continue into Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning and coastal flood advisory for the area.

The latest storm comes as people struggle to recover from the weekend storm that delivered hurricane-force gusts and extreme coastal flooding.

“While we will not see the same level of astronomically high tides we saw last week we will all be closely monitoring the minor to moderate flooding that we expect when the tide does come in and the storm surges,” said Gov. Charlie Baker.

Precipitation is forecast to overspread the state from west to east starting mid-morning Wednesday.

The most significant commuting impact will be during the Wednesday evening commute and possibly lingering into the Thursday morning commute.

Heavy, wet snow is expected in areas north and west of Boston, while the Cape and Islands will see mostly rain.

Western and central Massachusetts could get up to 18 inches.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said there may be minor to moderate coastal flood and erosion impacts for the early Thursday morning high tide.

“We anticipate continued beach erosion on the ocean side of the Cape from Wellfleet south to Chatham,” Baker said.

The astronomical high tides will be much lower than they were for the last storm and that will help mitigate potential impacts.

Also, this storm should be progressive enough to just impact one high tide cycle.

Minor coastal flooding is possible from Hull to Plymouth and north and northeast facing shoreline on Cape Cod and Nantucket.

“As we continue to assist the cities and towns impacted by last weekend’s storm, the Commonwealth is preparing for another significant winter storm to impact much of the state starting midday Wednesday,” said Baker.

“Our administration is asking everyone to exercise caution on the roadways as the snow will cause hazardous driving conditions, especially west of Route 128 and extending throughout Western and Central Massachusetts. Please monitor the weather forecast, plan ahead and call 211 if you have any questions,” Baker said.

The Steamship Authority had already cancelled some ferry runs on Wednesday morning in advance of the storm.

Only scattered power outages remain on Cape Cod as the new storm rolls into the region.

Under 200 outages are left over from the weekend nor’easter. More than 100,000 Cape Codders were without power at the height of the storm and more than 400,000 Eversource customers were in the dark across the state.

With more high winds forecast Wednesday, the company conducted aerial inspections of their power lines on Tuesday to try to identify any spots that may cause trouble for the electrical grid.

“The high winds that have already caused thousands of trees and limbs to come down could have impacted electric lines, leaving them more susceptible to damage or outages,” said Eversource Vice President of Electric Field Operations Doug Foley.

“By proactively checking those lines now, we can spot a problem area before the line is further damaged and help to prevent an outage as stormy weather continues to impact our region.”

Eversource is recommending residents restock storm supplies Wednesday and charge their mobile devices in case the power goes out.

By MATT PITTA and MATT McMCARTHY, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy