Gusty winds, high surf today as Erin passes offshore

Overcast today, sunshine returns tomorrow

Hurricane Erin makes its closest pass to Southern New England a few hundred miles offshore tonight into early tomorrow morning. This will lead to some wind and high surf for us over the next few days. Today, expect lots of clouds and temperatures similar to yesterday – in the upper 60s for most. Winds this afternoon will gust over 20mph inland and 30-40mph on Block Island and the Cape.

This is also kicking up some extremely rough seas – waves of 13-18 feet are possible on the open water today, and there is a high rip current risk as well. The next few days really aren’t great to be in or on the water – swimming or boating. Some minor coastal flooding and splashover is also possible – there’s a high tide just before midnight tonight on the Vineyard and Nantucket, and they have a Coastal Flood Advisory in effect as a result.

We have High Surf Advisory for all of our south-facing beaches until Saturday morning, and we have a Gale Warning for the open water until Friday evening. There’s also a Small Craft Advisory in effect for the bay itself.

Tomorrow will still be windy with gusts 20-30mph, but we get more sunshine in the mix and that allows us to warm up to the 80 degree mark in some spots! Saturday is looking more seasonable with highs in the low 80s, while a few clouds fill in Sunday. It looks like the mild temperature trend sticks around well into next week.

Have a great Thursday!
-Tyler