NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - Conditions deteriorated on the North Shore on Tuesday as wind, rain and snow ramped up during this week’s nor’easter.
Heavy rainfall gave way to heavy flakes as the snow/rain line that had settled along the Merrimack Valley moved southward, bringing snow to places like Plum Island by midday and leaving roads covered in snow by the early afternoon.
Whipping winds that swept up and down the coastlines brought gusts over 50 miles per hour, leaving the area’s normally picturesque beaches a blurry, gloomy mess.
“It gets pretty hard – the cold is pretty harsh down here,” said Darlene Tellier-Nelson, a Plum Island resident.
Having grown up in the area, one other concern she and other residents share in addition to the cold and wind gusts is beach erosion, which officials worked to get ahead of as this storm approached.
Off 73rd Street on Tuesday, sand could be seen encroaching on several beachfront homes, including some that previously lost property to last year’s January nor’easter, which brought plenty of coastal flooding.
While the tide schedule for Tuesday worked in the locals’ favor, neighbors were still concerned about the effect of any localized flooding.
“We’ve lost so much of the beachfront in front of our house,” resident Lisa Wright said. “We are really concerned about the waves, the wind, the water coming, pushing the waves. It’s going to be pretty fierce”
State Sen. Bruce Tarr was also among those monitoring conditions, checking to see how emergency measures put in place before the storm were holding up.
“I’ve been pretty pleased with what I’ve seen,” he said.
As they wait for a dredging project to be completed, residents said they’re still pushing for area jetties to be fixed, believing such a step would make for a more permanent solution.
“We always have a good March storm, whether it’s snow or just wind and rain,” Wright said.
“It’s not done until we get through it,” Wright continued.
A Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect Wednesday morning. High tide around 5 a.m. will likely be a bit higher than usual in some areas along the coast, with pockets of minor coastal flooding and beach erosion possible. Major, damaging flooding is not expected.
Tarr said new sand could be delivered as soon as next week for areas that have lost sand.
For more information and the latest forecast, check out the 7WEATHER Blog and more here.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)