Severe Weather Alert

East Hartford, CT - A complex coastal system takes shape later tonight, Monday, October 25th and more so Tuesday, October 26 for the area. A few showers and an isolated storm can pass through tonight, but the main risk for heavier rounds of rain don't take shape until closer to midday and afterwards. Rain falls over an extended time into the afternoon and early evening which should prevent widespread problems, however, heavy rain is still likely at times, leading to areas of poor drainage at least and perhaps a few rising streams & creeks. Upwards of 2-3.5" across the region is a good bet, along with locally higher amounts, and leaf-clogged drains can exacerbate flooding issues. Wind gusts also have to be closely watched as they may exceed 40 mph at times late Tuesday into the early part of the night, which combined with now saturated soils can bring down trees if frequent enough.

Tonight: Rain developing overnight as a low pressure system begins to take shape off the North Carolina coast.  No significant impacts are expected overnight. 

Tuesday: Rain becoming heavy at times during the morning and continuing into the afternoon.  Wind gusts gradually increasing from 15 – 25 MPH at daybreak up to 35 – 45 MPH by mid-afternoon especially in eastern CT.  The heavy rain is likely to cause moderate urban flooding especially where storm drains become clogged by leaves.  The strong wind gusts Tuesday afternoon may cause a minor to moderate number of power outages especially across eastern CT.  The peak of this storm is currently forecast to occur late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening with rainfall rates close to 1” per hour at times and NNE winds gusting to 40 – 50 MPH at times.

Tuesday Night: The wind and rain are expected to gradually decrease overnight with some additional power outages and some minor urban flooding.  Minor stream flooding is also possible. Minor coastal flooding is possible during the times of high tide Tuesday night.  Most impacts should subside by Wednesday morning as the storm begins to depart to the east.