New Englanders worry about powerful winds as Lee nears the coast

AccuWeather

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.

Category

Transcript

Recommended