Normal rainfall for June is just over 3 inches so we are looking at about a month’s worth of rain in twenty-four hours. While this is certainly a healthy amount of water, it’s not going to cause widespread flooding.
The storm is moving quite quickly so we won’t see a repeat of October 1996 when a week of heavy rain cause widespread flooding or June 1998 when nearly a foot of rain fell in Boston. Nonetheless, there will be street and urban flooding and if you have a basement prone to flooding during heavy rain you should check your sump pumps and other forms of drainage. If you are on the highways this evening and overnight, the rain may come down hard enough at times to make driving very difficult.
Another spot water can collect is around and in window wells. Last fall I had water pouring in the basement because the drainage in the window had become clogged with dirt and leaves and had not place to go besides inside.
Wind isn’t going to be an issue with this event. This is good because it means the rain won’t be driven against the house. Wind driven rain has a way of finding its way into places it doesn’t belong.
It might be too late to do this by the time you read this, but you could throw some seed down in any bare spots on the lawn. The caveat is you must scratch the surface of the soil and not be on a slope where the rain will just wash it away. Because the weather looks quite unsettled the next week you will have additional chances to do this.
Today’s rain is actually being caused by a front and tonight’s rain will come from the actual remnants of Andrea. As I wrote yesterday, the rain is over early Saturday morning and I expect skies to brighten and pockets of sunshine to develop. Today it will remain cool with temperatures only in the upper 50s and lower 60s. Tomorrow as the sun breaks out our high temperatures should rebound well into the 70s. Sunday is the best of the two days with highs in the upper 70s to near 80F.
The radar loop below shows that the heaviest rain is still down south of New Jersey. While it will rain all day, the real deal won't arrive until evening. At that point tropical downpours will create a lot of water on the roads.
If you are headed to the Cape this weekend it will turn quite muggy this evening and will feel very tropical. While you will see periods of rain from the storm the heaviest remains to your west. Water temperatures are still running in the upper 50s and lower 60s so swimming is still a bit challenging for most.
Gardening this week
You might not know it, but a disease that is affecting impatiens is going to be a problem again later this summer. This bacteria, which came over from Europe two years ago is now in over 30 states. I recommend not planting impatiens as the spores are airborne and likely will kill your plants later in July and early August just as they are looking great. I did a video on some alternatives to them here. Check it out.
I'll be updating the forecast throughout the week on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.
The storm is moving quite quickly so we won’t see a repeat of October 1996 when a week of heavy rain cause widespread flooding or June 1998 when nearly a foot of rain fell in Boston. Nonetheless, there will be street and urban flooding and if you have a basement prone to flooding during heavy rain you should check your sump pumps and other forms of drainage. If you are on the highways this evening and overnight, the rain may come down hard enough at times to make driving very difficult.
Another spot water can collect is around and in window wells. Last fall I had water pouring in the basement because the drainage in the window had become clogged with dirt and leaves and had not place to go besides inside.
Wind isn’t going to be an issue with this event. This is good because it means the rain won’t be driven against the house. Wind driven rain has a way of finding its way into places it doesn’t belong.
It might be too late to do this by the time you read this, but you could throw some seed down in any bare spots on the lawn. The caveat is you must scratch the surface of the soil and not be on a slope where the rain will just wash it away. Because the weather looks quite unsettled the next week you will have additional chances to do this.
Today’s rain is actually being caused by a front and tonight’s rain will come from the actual remnants of Andrea. As I wrote yesterday, the rain is over early Saturday morning and I expect skies to brighten and pockets of sunshine to develop. Today it will remain cool with temperatures only in the upper 50s and lower 60s. Tomorrow as the sun breaks out our high temperatures should rebound well into the 70s. Sunday is the best of the two days with highs in the upper 70s to near 80F.
The radar loop below shows that the heaviest rain is still down south of New Jersey. While it will rain all day, the real deal won't arrive until evening. At that point tropical downpours will create a lot of water on the roads.
If you are headed to the Cape this weekend it will turn quite muggy this evening and will feel very tropical. While you will see periods of rain from the storm the heaviest remains to your west. Water temperatures are still running in the upper 50s and lower 60s so swimming is still a bit challenging for most.
Gardening this week
You might not know it, but a disease that is affecting impatiens is going to be a problem again later this summer. This bacteria, which came over from Europe two years ago is now in over 30 states. I recommend not planting impatiens as the spores are airborne and likely will kill your plants later in July and early August just as they are looking great. I did a video on some alternatives to them here. Check it out.
I'll be updating the forecast throughout the week on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.