SCITUATE, Mass. — With less than 48 hours until the first impacts of a powerful fall nor’easter arrive in Massachusetts, boaters and coastal residents are taking steps to protect their property from days of heavy rain, strong winds, rough seas, and coastal flooding.
The Boston 25 Weather team has issued a Weather Alert from Friday through Monday as a slow-moving storm is expected to pound the Massachusetts coastline with soaking rain, damaging wind gusts, and dangerous marine conditions.
Along the North Shore on Tuesday, crews at the Swampscott Yacht Club were already pulling boats from the water ahead of the storm. Boaters say they’re preparing for what could be several days of rough conditions.
“Just went out there, put an extra line on in case something snaps, made sure the ends were secured, everything inside the boat, took it off the shelves, put it down low to avoid things flying around,” said Vinny Brew of Littleton as he prepared his sailboat.
Not everyone is bringing their vessel ashore. Some boat owners are choosing to leave their boats in the water while reinforcing moorings and securing loose items in hopes of getting back on the water once the storm passes.
Marine officials say the biggest concern is not just the storm’s intensity, but how long it is expected to linger.
“The issue is if this was a quick storm coming through that’s one thing, but this is supposed to set up for about two or three days, and we’re supposed to see 10-foot seas, and if that keeps going on and on for a long time you could run into issues,” said Chris Swartz, vice commodore of the Swampscott Yacht Club.
The National Weather Service has already issued a Small Craft Advisory for Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay as conditions are expected to deteriorate ahead of the weekend.
Current forecasts call for:
- Heavy rain Friday through Monday
- Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph inland
- Coastal wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph
- Gusts up to 60 mph on the Outer Cape and Nantucket
- Large waves and rough surf
- Coastal flooding and beach erosion
- Potential power outages
Saturday is expected to bring the worst conditions, with widespread rain, strong winds, and dangerous seas along the coast.
In Scituate and other shoreline communities, residents and boaters are being urged to finish preparations before conditions begin to worsen Friday.
Forecasters say the storm could continue impacting Massachusetts into the start of next week before gradually moving out and allowing conditions to improve Monday.
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