Coastal Flooding, High Winds Battering New England

Published: March 7th, 2013

As the nor'easter that plastered inland areas of the Mid-Atlantic with 2 feet of snow on Wednesday moves slowly out to sea, it is lashing the coast of New England with major coastal flooding. The National Weather Service is predicting moderate to major coastal flooding in several locations in eastern and southeastern parts of Massachusetts on Thursday and Friday as a storm surge combines with building seas to bombard the shoreline.

In a statement on Thursday morning, the NWS called the event a "dangerous coastal flood situation that is being "heightened by the expected duration through multiple tide cycles and existing vulnerabilities" from a blizzard that struck the region on Feb. 9.

View the story "Coastal Flooding in New England" on StorifyCoastal Flooding in New EnglandA powerful storm is encountering a traffic jam of weather systems in the North Atlantic, causing a prolonged period of high winds and coastal flooding along the east and northeast-facing shorelines of southern New England.Storified by · Thu, Mar 07 2013 09:37:00The large, intense storm that socked inland portions of the Mid-Atlantic with up to 2 feet of snow on Wednesday is now whipping waters of the Atlantic into a frenzy, pushing a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet into the southern New England coast. The storm comes almost one month to the day after a blizzard struck the same region, which caused damaging coastal flooding and weakening seawalls and dunes that protect coastal communities.The coastal flood threat will be highest on Friday morning, when astronomical tides will be running slightly higher than they are on Thursday. That's also when strong onshore winds will be blowing across long distances of the ocean, referred to as a "long fetch," which can heighten waves and surge. High tides on Thursday are between 7-8:30 p.m., and between 7:30-9 a.m. on Friday.

The National Weather Service is anticipating an inundation of 2 to 4 feet of water in some spots during the Friday morning high tide. "THE FRIDAY MORNING HIGH TIDE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE QUITE DANGEROUS AND COULD BE SIMILAR TO OR IN A FEW SPOTS EVEN WORSE THAN THE FEBRUARY 9 STORM TIDE," the NWS said.

The town of Scituate, Mass., which is located along Boston's South Shore, is one of the most vulnerable communities to coastal flooding. Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Boston: Massachusetts Bay at ScituateNational Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction ServiceThe storm was clearly visible on satellite images Thursday morning, appearing as a large swirl of clouds to the southeast of New England.WiscMajor coastal flooding is also forecast for the east side of Nantucket Island on Friday morning, when a 3.3-foot surge along with 27- to 28-foot waves are expected. Flooding was already occurring on Nantucket on Thursday morning.Easy Street, Nantucket. From @ackblackbook: http://pic.twitter.com/D6sP8AKMuTMatt NoyesThe most up-to-date coastal flooding information can be found at a page set up by the NWS in Boston.National Weather Service - Taunton, MA - Experimental Coastal Hazard Threat MapOcean breaches Pamet River, TrurocapecodtimesA computer-model simulation showed the blocked weather pattern across the North Atlantic (top), which is preventing the storm from escaping to sea. The bright red area over northeastern Canada is a High Pressure area, and the dark blue and green swirls are both storm systems. The jet stream flowing around those features is acting to keep them in place longer than average, essentially creating a weather traffic jam. Nice computer model image of the blocking pattern across the N. Atlantic which is preventing the nor'easter from moving east anytime soon.A computer-model simulation showing the large wind field surrounding the storm (blue and green).Nor'easter stalls thru late Friday, truck-tire wind field will return to lash eastern New England. http://pic.twitter.com/JeTyDDnM21Ryan Maue

Because of sea level rise due to warming ocean temperatures, melting polar ice caps, and sinking land masses, along with other factors, coastal storms such as this one are already more damaging than they used to be just a few decades ago, and that trend is expected to continue, according to recent scientific assessments.

Since hurricanes in the Northeast are relatively rare, it is nor'easters like the current one that bring some of New England's worst coastal flooding events. In Boston, the top five highest storm tides — which is the combination of the tide level and storm surge — all occurred during nor’easters. Higher sea levels provide a higher launching pad for storm surges from hurricanes and nor’easters, making it possible for relatively weak storms to cause major damage.

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Posted in Impacts, Trends, Climate, Extremes, Flooding, Water, Snow & Ice, Oceans & Coasts, Sea Level, Weather, Extreme Weather, States of Change, United States, New England, Mid-Atlantic

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