If you had any plans on the water, along the coast, or outdoors anywhere in eastern Massachusetts today, those plans need to change. A dangerous combination of gale-force winds, dry conditions, and elevated fire weather is battering the region — and it already turned catastrophic yesterday when wind-driven flames tore through a Lowell neighborhood.
The Active Alerts Right Now
The National Weather Service Boston/Norton issued two simultaneous alerts covering eastern Massachusetts:
A Wind Advisory is in effect until 10 PM EDT tonight for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with southwest winds 15 to 30 mph and gusts of 40 to 50 mph expected.
On the water, conditions are even more dangerous. A Gale Warning is in effect until 11 PM EDT tonight for Massachusetts coastal waters including Boston Harbor and Narragansett Bay. Southwest winds of 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 40 knots and waves 2 to 4 feet are expected. The NWS warns that strong winds will cause hazardous waves which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility…