The weekend nor’easter has come and gone from the Cape and Islands, and while many are feeling the region dodged a bullet compared to other parts of the East Coast, the National Weather Service is reporting significant rain totals.
The highest rain total in the region was 7.1 inches reported from Camp Edwards at Joint Base Cape Cod as of Sunday evening, according to the weather service. Six inches was also reported at one reading in Falmouth. For the Vineyard, the high was 5-and-a-half-inches in West Tisbury; just under 2 inches of rain was reported by the weather service on Nantucket.
In comparison, meteorologists with the weather service say that the region averages three to four inches of rain per month this time of year.
There is more rain in the forecast for Monday as well.
The high rain and high tides led to widespread coastal flooding around the region. Roads from the Vineyard to Sandwich were closed. Beach Road from Five Corners to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital was closed Saturday, with the major intersection inundated with flooding.
Meteorologists report that the wind speeds did match the forecast for the storm. A gust of 70 miles an hour was recorded in Wellfleet, the high for the region.
But the Cape and Islands did dodge major power outages. At the peak of the storm, Eversource reported that about 1,200 customers were affected Saturday, but power was mostly restored by Sunday, and there are no outages to report as of Monday morning. Crews with the utility had staged operations in Falmouth and Hyannis ahead of the storm.
The lack of outages could be due to the Cape’s type of trees. The Cape is pine-tree heavy, and pines have a higher threshold for wind damage, compared to oaks or other deciduous trees with their leaves still on during this early season nor’easter.
There were also widespread travel disruptions over the weekend. Logan International Airport reported hundreds of delays and cancellations, which bled into Monday morning. Ferry operators to the Island shut down service on Saturday as well, but service has been restored since.
