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Rough weekend waters ahead for New Englanders

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Tropical Storm Leslie is almost 1,000 miles from New England, but its ripple effect will spread across the Atlantic toward many coastal communities there beginning Friday evening. So it won’t be the best weekend to be on the water for work or play.

The National Weather Service has announced High Surf Advisories for the coastlines of New Hampshire and Maine for Saturday. A High Surf Advisory means that swells will produce dangerous rip currents and localized beach erosion in the advisory area. The latest forecast calls for surf heights of five to seven feet. Large, crashing waves will make it risky for swimmers and boaters.

The Lobster Co. in Portland, Maine tells FreightWaves there’s no issue for the supply of lobsters as they have about two days inventory. However, if the seas were to remain rough for four to five days they would have a problem and truckloads of seafood would dwindle.

The likelihood of very choppy waters has also prompted Small Craft Advisories with northeast winds of 10-20 knots (11-23 mph) whipping up, gusting to 25 knots, along with 4-9 foot seas. Some boats could get tossed around or capsize. Inexperienced mariners, especially ones who operate small vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.

The National Hurricane Center expects Leslie to drift eastward into the mid-Atlantic later in the weekend, so conditions should gradually improve along the New England coast throughout the day on Sunday.

Large swells could also affect Bermuda this weekend with Small Craft Warnings in place, and even the Bahamas and the Greater and Lesser Antilles could see some higher waves. As of late Friday afternoon (Eastern time) Leslie was centered 465 miles northeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.


Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.