Calm Before the Storm

All eyes are on Hurricane Lee as it continues to head north along the eastern seaboard. Today we are expecting to see increasing clouds and increasing surf. Coastal breaking waves for Rhode Island and SE Massachusetts will be 5-7 feet today and up to 10 feet Saturday morning at their peak. As a result of these waves, we will have dangerous rip currents in addition to the rough surf. Beach erosion is also possible. This storm will have the greatest impact on the outer Cape and on Nantucket. Here we could see 16 foot breaking waves and minor flooding from coastal inundation on the bay side of the Cape and in Nantucket Harbor. The highest winds and rain will also be for the Cape and Nantucket with more than an inch of rainfall possible and wind gusts at tropical storm strength topping 60 mph. As for RI and Bristol County, MA, we will see minor impacts of up to a quarter of an inch of rain and wind gusts of 35-40 mph. The rain will be over by 10 am Saturday and we will see increasing sunshine through the afternoon. Sunday will be a lovely day with sunshine and summerlike highs near 80. Monday is looking to be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. The remainder of the week is shaping up to be sunny and pleasant with highs in the lower-70s.