A multi-hazard storm moved through New England overnight Sunday to Monday. This storm brought with it heavy rain, snow and wind to the region. Rain and snow continue to fall across New England as of Monday morning.
Flooding in Guilford, Connecticut:
At least one inch of rain has fallen across all of New England, with large swaths of the region seeing more. The heaviest of the rain fell across Connecticut, Rhode Island and into southern Massachusetts, as expected. A general 2-5 inches has been reported in these areas. As of Monday morning, the highest (unofficial) rain report so far is 5.30 inches in Guilford, Connecticut.
All this rain has caused some flooding issues. A handful of rivers across all six New England states have either reached minor flood stage or are expected to reach minor flood stage in the next 12-24 hours. The Yantic River in Yantic, Connecticut is currently at moderate flood stage and the Pawtuxet River in Cranston, Rhode Island is expected to reach moderate flood stage. Some residents in North Branfield, Connecticut are being evacuated due to flooding.
New England river gauges expected to reach flood stage:
There have been a handful of reports in Maine of street flooding, particularly in the Penobscot area. In nearby Castine, Maine, a culvert has been reported to have collapsed with the road washing away. Rain continues to fall across Maine at a steady clip.
There have also been reports of wind damage across coastal Maine and Massachusetts. A handful of reports of trees blocking roads have come out of Downeast Maine, including a large tree reportedly blocking Route 1 in Gouldsboro. Across the South Shore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, there are several reports of trees down on wires, cars and homes.
So far, gusts of 50-60mph have been reported across these areas, on par with what was expected. Power outages have been rather up and down throughout the night and into this morning. As of 10am, outages region-wide stand at just over 17,500, with Maine seeing over 10,000 alone.
The biggest surprise of the storm has been snowfall across Vermont. Accumulations have been much lighter than anticipated so far, with a general 2-5" reported as of Monday morning. This comes as snow continues to fall across the state, and will continue through much of the day, so these totals will tick up. This snow fell after about an inch of rain across the state. This heavy, wet snow is beginning to cause power outages across Vermont to tick up.
Scenes from northern Vermont Monday morning:
Throughout the night, two things occurred with the storm's evolution that affected the outcome of the storm. The first was the continued eastward trend/faster cold front movement. This eastward trend pushed the heaviest precipitation away from Vermont, which is why snow totals were lower overnight than expected.
The faster cold front movement helped push the strongest core of the winds further east. This reduced the overall frequency of gusts topping 60-65mph across the Massachusetts and New Hampshire coastlines. This faster front also ended the potential for strong wind gusts in these areas earlier than anticipated.
Just after 3am, we posted this update in our live updates fed for the storm:
The cold front is advancing eastward quicker than initially forecast, this will further help limit high winds, especially across Massachusetts. This may also reduce further rain and snowfall.
Current cold front location, already pushing toward coast:
Massachusetts peaked with just over 9,000 outages. As of 10am, outages across the state are down to just over 1,400 with the strongest winds now subsiding. This faster trend is still keeping Maine in the strongest gusts, statewide outages have climbed past 10,000 as of 10am.
Second, the storm was able to strengthen as quickly as anticipated. Around 6am, the storm's central pressure was around 997mb, weaker than the 980-985mb it was forecast to be around this point. The storm is strengthening as it continues northeast into Maine, but the overall system will not be able to achieve maximum strengthening.
Overall, the storm played out mostly as expected, with rainfall and wind gusts reaching what we forecasted in the areas we forecasted them to be in. The snowfall was the big question, and right now, it looks like that will end up with less than expected.