Weekly Significant Weather Outlook (Issued September 28, 2026)
Nor’easter
It has indeed been a long duration nor’easter with one more day of rain and minor coastal
flooding/beach erosion to come. It will remain breezy from the northeast today but below
damaging levels except for any weakened branches that may fall. The continued northeast
(onshore for east coastal MA) wind will maintain a storm surge of around 1.5 feet above an
already high astronomical tide to cause minor coastal flooding during today’s early afternoon
high tide. The elevated water levels and lingering swells of 8 to 10 feet will also cause lingering
beach erosion into this afternoon. Periods of rain will persist today into tonight before finally
tapering off late tonight or Tuesday morning across southern New England with slow drying
taking place Tuesday afternoon. The rain, although not as intense the last couple of days, will
exacerbate poor drainage flooding and flooding of some urban areas. Streams will continue to
run high with minor flooding in a few spots such as the Taunton River at Bridgewater.
Looks like this nor’easter produced wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph across much of southern New
England with peak gusts between 55 and 70 mph near the immediate coast. Highest gusts
reported by the National Weather Service include 70 mph in Wellfleet and 71 mph at Block
Island. With still up to another inch of rain possible, rainfall of generally 2 to 4 inches fell across
most of southern New England except 4 to 7 inches across much of southeast MA with still a few
spot higher amounts. Refer to the National Weather Service (weather.gov/box) for more details
on wind and rain from the Nor’easter. Go to bluehill.org for the observed weather from the Blue
Hill Observatory.
Outlook for Rest of the Week
Rain will end early Tuesday morning with possibly some partial clearing by late afternoon.
Warmer and drier weather is expected for Wednesday through at least Saturday with greater
uncertainty on Sunday’s weather. Temperatures will rebound into the 70s with sunshine for later
in the week as high pressure becomes established south of New England.
Hurricane Polo
Hurricane Polo will make landfall in Baja California late today and then continue to make a
second landfall as a hurricane along the Mexican mainland coast before weakening over
northwestern Mexico over the next couple of days. Moisture from Polo will add to a serious
flash flood risk across much of the U.S. Southwest as well as portions of the southern and central
plains through at least the first half of this week.
Next Message
The next message will probably be the weekly significant weather outlook scheduled for
Monday October 5 unless a more significant weather risk should develop for late in the coming
weekend.
About this Blog and Disclaimer
The National Weather Service monitors the weather 24/7 and updates forecasts, watches, and
warnings as necessary. For most of southern New England, refer to your local Weather Forecast
Office for the latest forecast/warning information at weather.gov/box. For information from
other Weather Forecast Offices, go to weather.gov and click on the location of interest on the
map.
The frequency of this blog will depend upon the nature of the weather threat and availability of
the author. Thus, for the latest information on weather forecasts and warnings, refer to the
National Weather Service, which monitors and forecasts the weather 24/7.
Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center (BHOSC)
The BHOSC maintains a continuous daily observation record that dates from February 1, 1885
without interruption and provides educational information on weather and climate to area
students and the community at large. Your support of BHOSC is much appreciated and enables
this nonprofit organization to maintain the long-term climate record at the Blue Hill Observatory
(longest continuous record in North America) and provide valuable educational resources on
weather and climate via outreach to schools, site visits/tours, webinars, and conferences. For
more information on the Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, explore bluehill.org.
Message issued September 28, 2026 by:
Bob Thompson
Retired National Weather Service Meteorologist
Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center Board member
