New England hit with heavy rain and wind, bringing floods and even a tornado
BOSTON (AP) — Severe rainstorms and high winds swept across parts of New England on Tuesday, the remnants of a massive storm that pummeled the eastern U.S. a day earlier, killing two people.
The severe weather flooded roads, stranded drivers and disrupted public transportation in Massachusetts. It also prompted already saturated Vermont to keep swift water rescue teams deployed in the western part of the state.
A tornado touched down in the coastal town of Mattapoisett in southeastern Massachusetts just before noon Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed. The twister damaged homes and vehicles, downed trees and power lines and may even have caused damage to the water treatment plant, town officials said.
There were no reports of injuries, according to a statement from the Select Board. The damage is still being assessed and the water treatment plant remained operational, the statement said.
Flash flood warnings were effect in Maine, where a band of storms dumped 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 centimeters) from New Gloucester to Lewiston-Auburn, said meteorologist Sarah Thunberg. The National Weather Service issued a marine warning that mentioned gusts topping 51 mph (82 kph), dangerous surf and possible waterspouts off the southern Maine coast.
Police in Natick, Massachusetts, said several vehicles became stranded in floodwaters. The state Department of Transportation reported roads closed because of flooding in Revere, New Bedford and an off-ramp of Interstate 95 in Needham.
Some MBTA service in the Boston area was disrupted by the heavy rains. Shuttle buses temporarily replaced service on the subway’s Green Line on Tuesday morning because of flooding in some areas but service has since returned to normal, according to MBTA posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In Exeter, New Hampshire, the National Weather Service said 1 to 2 inches (2 to 5 centimeters) of rain had already fallen in the morning and rates of 2 to 3 inches (5-7 centimeters) of rain per hour could be expected, according to the fire department.
“Be careful if you’re traveling in these multiple rounds of heavy rainfall today,” the Exeter Fire Department posted on X. “‘Turn around, don’t drown’ is always the message from our firefighters if you encounter flooded roadways.”
Much of Vermont was under a flood watch on Tuesday. The state was hit by historic flooding last month that inundated its capital city and other communities, and damaged thousands of homes, businesses and roads. Heavy rains caused additional flooding in the Middlebury and Rutland areas late last week leading to the evacuation of 35 people, with one injury reported and a swift water boat damaged during a rescue, said Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison.
“This brings the number of lives rescued to 216 in the last month. Additionally teams have assisted with 162 evacuations,” she said, compared to a “normal year” where there are approximately six rescues and 30 evacuations.