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Live Storm Blog: Out Like a Lion

Alecia Orsini

  It seems like winter is determined to stick around. We'll bring you all the details as the blizzard develops, along with lists of resources and important links.

3/26/14 - 4:50 pm - Slow but steady improvement on the Cape and Islands, as today's hard-hitting storm continues to move offshore, and local utilities make steady progress restoring power across the region. At this hour, Nstar reports 1,907 customers still without power, while National Grid reports 1,517 customers on Nantucket without power. Hang in there, folks...Spring will be here before you know it (oh, wait, it already is here!!).

The blog signs off for the day....

3/26/14 - 4:37 pm: The Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee (BCREPC) has determined that the Barnstable County Regional Shelter System will not be activated for this weather event. Furthermore, the Barnstable County Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) will stand down as of 5 p.m. March 26th.

3/26/14 - 3:32 pm: Nantucket Main Street during today's storm:

Credit Jason Graziadei

3/26/14 - 3:00 PM: Check out this very cool interactive graphic showing the winds associated with today’s Spring blizzard on the Cape and Islands. Click the link to play with the graphic yourself! http://bit.ly/1dO9GCt

Credit Earth.nullschool.net/about.html
A visualization of global weather conditions, forecast by supercomputers updated every three hours!

3/26/14 - 2:11: Power just went out here at the station. Back on after a few seconds. It's a good way to keep the generator on its toes...

3/26/14 - 2:02 pm: Latest National Grid power outage map for Nantucket:

3/26/14 - 1:39 PM: The Cape Cod Times reports that Nstar is making steady progress on restoring power to affected customers on Cape Cod. Currently, 4,691 NSTAR customers are without power.

3/26/14 - 1:27 pm: House under renovation collapses in Chatham.

Credit Merrily Cassidy - Cape Cod Times

3/26/14 - Latest NSTAR outage map:  

3/26/14 - 12:25 pm: According to @capecodtimes "No plan to open regional shelters on # at this point. Power restoration efforts expected to continue." Here is the 12:04 news cast:

3/26/14 - 11:40 am: Coastal flooding Dennis, Sandwich, Nantucket and Plymouth. Nantucket and Barnstable are asking vehicles to stay off the road, which is good advice cape wide. Here is the news Cast from 11:04 with Dan Tritle, Elsa Partan and Alecia Orsini. 

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News Break 11:04am

Credit Christopher Kelly
Rock by Nobska Lighthouse

  3/26/14 - 10:28am: New cast from 10:04 with Dan Tritle, Elsa Partan and Alecia Orsini, with weather updates.

 

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News Break 10:04am

 

3/26/14 - 10:20am: It's Officially a Blizzard! The following towns have hit blizzard criteria of 3 hrs ≤ 1/4 visibilities & ≥ 35 mph winds. From the US National Weather Service Boston MA.

Nantucket (http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KACK.html)
Chatham (http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KCQX.html)
Hyannis (http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KHYA.html)
Falmouth (http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KFMH.html)

In fact, Nantucket is mostly experiencing a hurricane gust up to 70mph or more. Reduced visibility and poor road conditions make this a great day to stay home. Especially as work crews are heading out to clear roads of wind debris and restore power lines.

 

3/26/14 - 9:26am: As we switch gears and talk Spring Books on The Point, here is the weather round up from Elsa Partan and Dan Tritle.

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News Break at 9:04am

3/26/14 - 9:03am: Power now going out around the Cape. While Nantucket lost power early this morning, Orleans, Sandwich, Mashpee and other cape towns are without power at this hour, close to 3,122 total homes and businesses.  

Credit @cctphoto
Losing Power, but a reminder from the W. Barnstable Fire Department, 61 Days Until Memorial Day.

3/26/14 - 8:26am: Update from WCAI's Jason Graziadeiand Sean Corcoran with Dan Tritle. 

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3/26/14 - 8:19am: Alecia Orsini sat down with Dan with an update from YOU! Observations from Twitter.

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Morning Edition 8:19am Break

 

Credit Christopher Kelly
Power Lines Holding on most of Cape Cod.

  3/26/14 - 7:50am: This day in Falmouth history from the digital archive of the Falmouth Enterprise, Blackout Drill, 1944. Some folks aren't having a drill, National Grid is reporting close to 800 customers out of power, and Sandwich EOC is reporting Salt Marsh Road has splashover and minor coastal flooding.

3/26/14 - 7:08 am:  Snows continues, totals vary widely, mainly due to wind which is kicking up and creating white out conditions. WCAI's Elsa Partan spoke with Vern Laux out on Nantucket.

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Morning Edition Break 1

3/26/14 - 6:32am Slick Roads and Low visibility.  Preparing for High Tide.

Credit Weather.com

Nantucket Harbor, Sandwich Harbor, Provincetown, and other low lying areas should be on alert for flooding, according to meteorologist Frank O'Laughlin. High tide will occur close to 8am.  Over water wind speeds are up to 74-80MPH. Most ferries and flights are canceled for this morning, call ahead if you have travel plans. Parts of Nantucket are without power, including the WNAN Radio tower. 788 Customers out of Power on Nantucket currently.

  3/25/14 - 10:30pm Hopefully if you are a mariner, you aren't planning on heading out on Wednesday. Here is your Marine ForecastA life threatening storm will bring hurricane force wind gusts and seas exceeding 25 feet across portions of the eastern Atlantic waters late tonight and Wednesday. Mariners should return to port immediately! 

Tonight: E winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt... becoming NE 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 45 kt after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 ft. Snow...mainly after midnight. Areas of blowing snow after midnight with vsby 1 nm or less.

Wed: N winds 25 to 35 kt with gusts up to 60 kt. Seas 5 to 8 ft. Areas of blowing snow. Snow. Vsby 1 nm or less.

Wed Night: NW winds 25 to 35 kt. Gusts up to 55 kt in the evening. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Light freezing spray likely.

3/25/14 - 6:20pm

Want to know when and how it's likely to happen? All Things Considered host Steve Junker spoke with meteorologist Phil Burt of CapeCodWeather.net to break down the forecast: snowfall, winds, and coastal erosion. Here's their conversation.

ATC_BURT.mp3
Weather discussion with Steve Junker and meteorologist Phil Burt, March 25, 2014

3/25/14 - 5:20pm

STORM RESOURCES

High Winds are expected! Outage maps from NStarand National Grid are a great way to keep track of power outages, unless, of course, your power is out. In that case, you can report an outage by calling 800-592-2000 (Nstar) or 800-465-1212 (National Grid).

Cape Cod Weather provides local forecasts and updates, as well as explanations of what goes into forecasts and what they really mean. Twitter feed @capecodweather.

School and Other Closings from the Cape Cod Times

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has winter storm tips on their website and posts updates on shelters, press conferences, and other emergency actions on twitter as @MassEMA.

For information on ferry service to and from the islands, check with the provider. The Steamship Authority and Hy-line Cruises are posting service updates on their websites. Hy-line is also on twitter - @hylinecruises.

Credit US National Weather Service Boston MA

FORECAST  

  According to the National Weather Service: A powerful storm will move up the Atlantic coast Tuesday into Wednesday. While the bulk of the precipitation will be offshore, the system is expected to bring snow, heavy at times, to parts of the mid-Atlantic and coastal New England. A Blizzard Watch is in effect for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and a Blizzard Warning is in effect for parts of eastern Maine. 

  • TonightA chance of snow before 4am, then snow likely between 4am and 5am, then snow after 5am. Low around 29. Blustery, with a southeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming northeast 15 to 20 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
  • WednesdaySnow with areas of blowing snow before 1pm, then areas of blowing snow and a chance of snow between 1pm and 4pm, then areas of blowing snow and a slight chance of snow after 4pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 36. Windy, with a northwest wind 29 to 31 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
  • Wednesday NightMostly cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 21. Windy, with a northwest wind 24 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 49 mph.
  • ThursdaySunny, with a high near 38. Breezy, with a west wind 14 to 24 mph.
Alecia Orsini is an award winning independent filmmaker and multi-media professional. She joined the team at WCAI in March of 2012 as a part time host. She became the Special Projects Assistant for Development department, where she coordinated events, volunteers and managed member engagement. As the Development Associate she continues to bring more meaningful connections to WCAI's members, fostering donor support of the station. Alecia also continues to fill in as host for Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.