A June Nor'easter!

Sunday June 21, 2009 07:52 AM

For several days now CapeCodWeather.Net has been mentioning the possibility of an unusual June coastal storm. Unfortunately, what once seemed like a long shot has become an imminent event as the storm is now taking shape south of Cape Cod. This system will stall out and intensify over the next 24 hours. Because the coastal storm will be cut-off from the main steering patterns, it will linger near the region into Wednesday. The threats from this late season Nor'easter:

Wind: Northeast winds will increase to 20 to 25 mph later Sunday with gusts approaching 30 mph by day's end. Overnight tonight, gusts will increase further, likely surpassing 35 mph, with a few isolated gusts to 40 mph possible around the area - particularly on the Outer Cape. Expect some leave and limb damage. A Wind Advisory is posted. 

Rain: While the steadiest and heaviest rain from this storm will remain offshore, episodes of light to moderate rain will occur starting later Sunday and persisting into Tuesday night. When all is set and done, most of the Cape should pick up better than 1" of rain. 

Coastal Flooding / Beach Erosion: It is rare to forecast such an even this time of year, but the combination of strong onshore winds and astronomically high tides raises the threat for signficant beach erosion and some areas of coastal flooding. The late night high tides pose the greatest threat. 

Image shown is the WRF / NAM computer model's interpretation of the upcoming storm. This image is taken courtesy of the College of DuPage.