Heavy rain expected to cause widespread flooding

March 7, 2008 12:27 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Fears of flooding are rippling across New England today as the region braces for a weekend storm that may dump up to 2 to 4 inches of rain on ground already saturated by an extraordinarily wet winter.

Flood watches and warnings have been issued from Washington, D.C., to Maine, with every county in Massachusetts under the threat of rising streams and rivers with the exception of Cape Cod.

“Given this saturated ground, we anticipate fairly widespread minor to moderate flooding,” said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Forecasters say that the rain will come in two waves. The first 1 to 2 inches is expected to begin hitting Boston today by 8 p.m., with heavy rain continuing until 2 a.m., Dunham said. The downpour should taper off to a drizzle before it picks up again midmorning and continues well into Saturday afternoon.

The heaviest rains are expected in Southeastern Massachusetts and in Rhode Island, though that may change, according to forecasts. Strong winds may gust up to 30 to 40 miles per hour in the interior part of Massachusetts and on the South Coast.

Officials are most concerned about smaller rivers and streams spilling over banks. However, tributaries feed larger waterways, and officials plan to keep a close eye on the Concord, Merrimack, and other major rivers. Urban flooding is also expected in areas where there is poor drainage.

Although the storm will hit during an astronomically high tide, officials are not as concerned about coastal flooding, Dunham said. There is a possibility of some splash over on the South Coast and in Rhode Island, he said.

In Northern New England, an above-average snowpack lingering from the winter's barrage of storms also carried the potential for river flooding. A round of snow, freezing rain, or rain was expected Friday night, followed by rain in many areas Saturday.

The storm could leave 6 or more inches of snow and sleet across the mountains of northern New Hampshire and western Maine through early Sunday morning. In New Hampshire, flash flood watches are posted for this weekend, when downpours are predicted in the southern part of the state.

Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.