Thursday, 4:30 PM
Tropical Storm Beryl gradually weakens
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
Tropical Storm Beryl gradually weakened as it steamed up the East Coast this afternoon, churning north at 14 miles-per-hour while Nantucket and outer Cape Cod prepared for 50 mile-per-hour winds and up to 1½ inches of rain.
The system, which was about 155 miles southwest of Nantucket just before 5 p.m., is expected to pass near or over the island late this evening, bringing what National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson described as a summer Nor’easter.
Beryl’s maximum sustained wind speed dropped to 50 miles-per-hour, down 10 miles-an-hour in the last few hours, as forecasters predict the storm’s strength will continue to wane as it approaches New England.
Tropical storms warnings have been issued from Plymouth to Woods Hole and include all of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Woods Hole west along the New England coast to New Haven, Conn. and on eastern Long Island.
“It looks like it’s got a bull’s eye right on us,” said Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman, “But it certainly doesn’t look like a very strong one.”
Conditions are expected to begin deteriorating late this afternoon with 10-foot waves just south of Nantucket. The worst weather will be overnight, with the storm passing by early Friday morning, Simpson said. Tropical force winds above 39 miles-an-hour extend for 140 miles around the storm.
Boston should be largely unaffected by Beryl, with forecasters expecting winds in the city to range from 10 to 15 miles an hour, accompanied by about 1/4 inch of rain. The weather may be wetter in Plymouth, where rainfall totals may reach 1/2 inch.
“The biggest concern will probably be rip currents,” said Simpson of the National Weather Service in Taunton. “Everybody is going to see the waves and go jump in the water.”
Fortunately, the storm is scheduled to hit during a low point in the monthly astronomical tide cycle, which should limited flooding, Simpson said. Forecasters expect tide rise one to three feet above normal.
Officials on Nantucket are busy preparing for the rare summer storm, securing harbors packed boats during high tourist season.
“We are not too concerned about it at this time, but we still monitoring the weather,” said Nantucket Fire Chief Mark McDougall. “Fifty to 60 mile-per-hour winds are a nuisance, especially for boaters.”
The Nantucket Boat Basin was moving moorings downwind and putting boats in larger slips, said dock master George Bassett. About half of the 30 boats scheduled to arrive this weekend had cancelled their plans.
“A 40 to a 50 mile and hour wind is not a big event for us,” Bassett said this morning. “We get that a couple of times a year in the winter. We just have a marine full of boats now, so we’re preparing to be cautious.”
The population of Nantucket is 20,000 to 30,000 higher now than the roughly 10,000 residents who live there in the winter, and the trees are full of leaves and more susceptible to high winds. Both factors could complicate things on the island if the storm gets worse.
