 |
| Under clear, calm skies today in Scituate, Massachusetts, there was still minor coastal flooding. When the big storm arrives Friday and Saturday, expect devastating, record or near record storm surges in the Northeast. Photo from NBC10 and NECN. |
This one will be a beast that will be remembered for generations to come, I think.
The worst of it still looks like it will be the enormous storm surges and battering waves that will hit the coast from the Middle Atlantic states to Maine. Southeastern New England will take the brunt.
There's an excellent chance that the storm surge heights will be at or above record levels, possibly exceeding the Blizzard of 1978 and the near record storm surges in early January.
Like the Blizzard of '78 but unlike the January, 2018 storm, there will be three or four high tide cycles with destructive surges and waves.
Officials are advising people in coastal locations to evacuate ahead of time, so they won't get caught. Today, before the storm even wound up, there were reports of minor coastal flooding in parts of New England.
The National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts is warning of tides up to five feet above normal. Whole neighborhoods might be cut off, and some houses will probably be destroyed.
There will be less snow than in the Blizzard of 1978, but whatever falls will be wet and heavy, as opposed to the powdery stuff that hit most of New England back in 1978.
The bulk of the heavy snow with this system will occur inland, and at higher elevations. The wet snow, combined with high winds, threatens massive power failures in parts of New England, New York and Pennsylvania.
This storm is going to cover an enormous area, and high winds will affect most of the East from the Carolinas north. Gusts to 50 or 60 mph will be common in most of this area, with some coastal locations going to 80 mph or more. That will cause a lot of additional damage.
This will be yet another $1 billion dollar storm, with losses from this system almost certainly exceeding that figure. Yeah, just what the nation needs. Another very expensive weather disaster.
VERMONT IMPACTS
The forecast philosophy for the Green Mountain State hasn't changed much this morning. Fortunately for us, this mega storm will cause lots of unpleasant weather. There will be damage, but nothing extreme like further south.
It's still tricky to figure out who will get mostly snow and who will get a fair amount of rain. But anywhere in the state, expect both. Unless you're pretty high in elevation. Then it will be virtually all snow.
Southern Vermont continues to be most under the gun. The southernmost two counties in Vermont are under a winter storm warning for five to 10 inches of wet snow, especially in higher elevations, combined with wind gusts to 50 mph.
That's a perfect recipe for lots of tree damage and power failures, so you want to be ready down there. I think this type of risk will extend northward into the central Green Mountains, so beware in places like eastern Rutland County or western Windsor County.
MEANWHILE, IN CALIFORNIA
California is finally getting into some storminess, which in general is good because, except for one big storm in early January, it's been dry. Many feet of snow will accumulate in the Sierra Nevada, which the state needs for its water supply.
However. And this is a big however. You might remember those big wildfires in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties during the late fall and early winter. It covered the biggest area in California history.
When that one storm came in early January, the burn scar unleashed an epic water and debris flow that killed 23 people in and around Montecito, California.
A new storm is coming in Friday, and officials have ordered up to 20,000 people to evacuate in Montecito, Santa Barbara and other communities near the site of the massive fire in late 2017. The concern is a repeat of the deadly debris flows in January, and nobody wants to take chances.
The storm coming into California Friday is not quite as strong as the one in January, but it's dangerous enough and emergency officials don't want to take chances.
By the way, the storm coming into California tomorrow has the potential to cause mischief in our neck of the woods by the middle or end of next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment