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Flood watches issued for millions of people in New England as storm looms
Coastal storm brings heavy rain and flooding to New England, with millions under Flood Watches until Tuesday.
New England is facing another round of heavy rain and flooding as a coastal storm moves in and dumps more water on the already-soaked region.
The storm will affect millions of people from Connecticut and Rhode Island to Boston and Maine, who are under Flood Watches until at least Tuesday afternoon.
The hailstorm comes on the heels of Hurricane Lee, which hit the region last week and caused severe flooding in some areas. Leominster, Massachusetts was one of the hardest hit places, where a Flash Flood Emergency was declared after 5-8 inches of rain fell from the tropical system.
The rain caused widespread damage to roads, homes, and businesses.
The new storm is not expected to be as bad as Lee, but it still poses a risk of more flooding because the ground has no capacity to absorb more water. The amount of rain that will pour from the storm will vary depending on the location, but some places could see up to 3 inches of rain.
The New York City metro area will likely be spared from the worst of the storm, with less than a half inch of rain predicted. But, the rain could still create traffic problems for commuters along the I-95 corridor in the Northeast.
The rest of New England will likely see more rain, especially in Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, and along the New England coast into Maine. These areas could see higher amounts of rain that could trigger flash flooding, river flooding, and urban flooding.
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The storm is the latest in a series of wet weather events that have affected New England this year, resulting in a large surplus of rainfall totals. For instance, Hartford, Connecticut has received more than 10 inches above its normal rainfall this year. Boston has also seen 8 inches more than usual, while other parts of New England have 7-8 inches above average.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued Flood Watches for most of New England, covering the entire state of Rhode Island, parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, including Boston, and most of New Hampshire and Maine.
The Flood Watches warn of possible flooding as the storm intensifies and continues through the day.
