Irene likely to knock out power, down trees, flood coastline
Chris Burrell
WCVB-TV meteorologist Mike Wankum, who is a Scituate resident, says many on the South Shore are worried about storm surge "It looks like a 1- to 2-foot storm surge on top of the high astronomical tides, so there could be some coastal flooding," Wankum says.
Heavy rains, storm surges and high winds will begin to hammer the South Shore on Saturday night as a powerful hurricane, packing 100 mph winds, roars up from the mid-Atlantic.
Hurricane Irene, a category 2 storm, is shaping up to be the first major hurricane to strike the region since Hurricane Bob hit the area 20 years ago last week.
"People are calling it historic not in the sense that it's the biggest hurricane, but because it's going through Philadelphia, New York and Boston, all the big metro centers on the East Coast," said WCVB-TV meteorologist Mike Wankum, who is also a Scituate resident.
About 65 million people living along the East Coast from Washington to Boston could be affected by the storm.
The National Weather Service ratcheted up its forecast to a hurricane warning for southern Plymouth County, the Cape and the Islands and a tropical storm warning for the rest of the state, with as much as five to 10 inches of rain predicted.
Damaging and high-intensity winds from 60 to 70 miles per hour are expected to knock out power and down trees. Seas of 20 to 30 feet are also predicted, and the National Weather Service is urging residents to be prepared by Saturday evening to ride out the storm.
"I know everyone along the South Shore and Scituate in particular are watching that storm surge," Wankum said. "It looks like a 1- to 2-foot storm surge on top of the high astronomical tides so there could be some coastal flooding."
Wankum said coastal residents will not to have to reach too far back in their memory banks to understand what to expect.
"It will be a lot like the Nor'easters of last winter," he added. "And people on the South Shore are very well prepared."
Christopher Burrell may be reached at cburrell@ledger.com.