Residents of Southern New England Urged to Prepare for Possible Severe Thunderstorms
Spring may be in full effect in many parts of the country, but for the residents of New England, they may want to put their outdoor plans on hold for at least the rest of the day.
The National Weather Service for Boston has recently been tweeting out advisories about potential severe thunderstorms that could be hitting the area later today.
Most recently, the weather service tweeted that there is potential for strong to severe thunderstorms to start up in the southern portion of New England.
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To be more specific, the weather service indicated that the main time of concern for the thunderstorms is between 2 and 9 p.m. As much as possible, residents are advised to stay indoors during that window of time.
The National Weather Service for Boston has provided additional safety tips for people to follow during a potential thunderstorm.
While indoors, people are advised to move away from any outside walls or windows. If the house or building has an interior room, people should move there. A room located on a lower level is also an ideal place for shelter.
People should also avoid using any kind of electric appliance while the thunderstorm is raging outside.
Residents of mobile homes are also advised to find shelter.
If it is not possible for people to find a structure that provides adequate shelter during the thunderstorm, then they can stay inside a hard-topped vehicle. The vehicle must also be parked away from trees if there is a thunderstorm taking place.
In certain cases where people find themselves stuck in open country, they must immediately head for lower ground while avoiding trees. People should also keep watch of water levels while they are waiting out the thunderstorm as they can rise quickly and lead to flash flooding.
Lastly, people who are out at sea or swimming at the time a thunderstorm begins must immediately seek shelter on land.
Also, even if the thunderstorm has already died down, that does not mean that people should immediately go back out to water or to any other location that does not provide adequate shelter.
At the very least, people should wait for 30 minutes before they resume any activities they may have dropped prior to the start of the thunderstorm.
Currently, Weather.com notes that the chance for rain later today in Boston is at 90 percent, so even if the severe thunderstorms don't start up, residents should still prepare for showers.
If there is good news here, it's that the bad weather should not hang around New England for that long.
The weather forecast for Wednesday is mostly cloudy, with the chance for rain way down at just 20 percent. The weather should remain clear throughout the rest of the weekdays, but there is a bit of bad news.
According to the latest forecasts, rain is expected throughout Saturday and Sunday, so maybe families should reschedule their plans for this weekend.
More news about what the weather will be like moving forward in Boston and other parts of New England should be made available soon.
