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  • 9/16/2023
People on the Massachusetts coast told AccuWeather's Bill Wadell their biggest concern isn't storm surge or flooding, but gusty winds that could knock down a lot of trees throughout New England.
Transcript
00:00 impacts will be felt across eastern New England and the Canadian Maritimes into
00:04 this weekend. And with that,
00:06 communities have already along the coast been urging residents to prepare not
00:09 just their properties, but also their boats.
00:11 We're trying to reach out directly to towns, calling them.
00:16 That's why I'm also talking to a lot of the local radio stations,
00:20 making sure people are taking this seriously.
00:23 It's important just to take it seriously.
00:25 Then if nothing happens or if it's not as bad as we think it is, then that's great.
00:29 There's no lives lost.
00:31 But we want to make sure everybody's as safe as possible.
00:34 Those in Washington County, Maine,
00:37 we'll see some of the worst of Lee's winds and storm surge as we head through
00:41 tomorrow.
00:42 Cape Cod will start feeling the strongest wind and rain from Lee in just hours.
00:48 Bill Waddell is live in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Bill,
00:51 gusty winds could cause some big problems out there.
00:54 Yeah, that's right, Kevin.
00:57 We're already seeing winds gust about 30 miles an hour here at this far
01:01 northeastern edge of Cape Cod.
01:03 This is just one of the spots that sees the worst of the wind and the worst from
01:07 the waves when these systems are moving in.
01:09 And we know the winds are going to get a lot rougher during the overnight hours.
01:13 Now for a lot of people here that had been through storms over the decades,
01:16 they tell us for the most part,
01:17 it has been business as usual beyond securing their boats.
01:20 Most stores and restaurants were open throughout the day,
01:24 but there are a number of people who told us that they are concerned for the
01:27 people out on the water.
01:29 We're talking about the fishing crews and the lobstermen who make their living
01:32 on the Atlantic.
01:33 I'm just worried about the people on the water because it hits home. Um,
01:37 my boyfriend's out there, his family. So it's like,
01:41 I'm concerned about them and they're just trying to hustle and bustle and do
01:45 their job like everybody else.
01:49 Malin Snow tells us she will be on edge until she hears that everyone is back on
01:54 safe ground. Hopefully they are, uh, by this point.
01:57 And you could see the waves just crashing up against the rugged coastline of
02:01 Scituate today. People here in Provincetown say their big concern is not the rain
02:06 or the threat of surge with Lee,
02:08 but they are worried about the powerful winds that could gust above 60 miles an
02:13 hour.
02:13 I think a lot of trees are going to come down.
02:17 I'm not so much afraid of the water as I am of the wind. And you know,
02:21 around my house, we have a lot of tall trees, so a little nervous.
02:26 You have to respect the water, respect the wind.
02:30 We don't want any strikes.
02:33 We've had some tornadoes lately also and we don't have a very many,
02:37 uh, big disasters there.
02:39 Yeah. Noreen, Josephine and Karen say they're going to make the most of their
02:47 weekend here at the coast,
02:48 even though they've seen quite a lot of weather here in this part of new
02:51 England in the past week and a half. And of course,
02:53 a lot of people were out spotting seals that were trying to get through the rough
02:57 surf this afternoon. Now, authorities are warning people stay away from the water.
03:02 We're dealing with a dangerous rip current.
03:04 The threat of street flooding and surge is possible, Kevin.
03:07 And leaders have also been warning people that they need to be prepared for power
03:11 outages,
03:11 but we're going to show you some new technology that could help with a power
03:15 outage is here at Cape Cod. That'll be in our next hour.
03:17 That's some great information, Bill. Stay safe out there. You're right.
03:21 Gusts are already over 30 in Provincetown and close to 50 on the Island of
03:26 Nantucket. I will check back in with you in a bit.

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