New England grapples with flooding, possible tornado ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

The New England area this week has faced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a possible tornado — all as residents prepare for the impending arrival of Hurricane Lee.

Lee, now a Category 2 storm, continued to creep up along the Northeast coast on Thursday, spawning a hurricane watch from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border. Areas including Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are also under a tropical storm watch while a storm surge warning has been issued for Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket.

With wind speeds topping 100 mph, Hurricane Lee was churning some 265 miles southwest of Bermuda and about 795 miles south of Nantucket, according to the National Hurricane Center’s most recent update. It noted that “tropical storm conditions” are already impacting Bermuda while “dangerous surf and rip current conditions are affecting much of the east coast and the United States.”

Though the storm is expected to weaken as it trudges northward, forecasters warned that winds could begin to buffet New England as early as Friday. Lee’s center is expected to pass close to the region’s southeast before ripping across or near Maine, and then moving over Atlantic Canada over the weekend as a “large and dangerous cyclone,” according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane’s arrival is only the latest weather woe for New England, where residents for the last two weeks have been drenched with rainfall levels more than 300% above normal, according to weather service data.

The National Weather Service in Boston said radar data and videos showed an apparent tornado roaring through Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. Just 24 hours earlier, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” across two counties and several nearby communities. It came as certain regions experienced 10 inches of rainfall — unrelated to the hurricane — over the course of just six hours. She added that the state’s emergency management agency is watching the weather as well as the conditions of dams.

Healey also urged residents to take flood warnings seriously and to stay off the roads when told.

In Leominster, Mass., the rainfall resulted in several sinkholes, including one at a car dealership that swallowed several vehicles. What’s more, the soggy soil paired with Lee’s raging winds will also increase the likelihood of downed trees, which in turn could knock out essential power lines.

“The ground is saturated,” Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. “It can’t take in anymore.”

With News Wire Services