5:15 pm Wednesday Afternoon Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Very heavy rain currently extends in an area from Hampden & Monson northward through Ludlow, Palmer, Bondsville, Ware, Pelham and Shutesbury. This very heavy rain is moving almost due north with perhaps a slight northeastward path.

Because of the nearly due north track this very heavy rain is taking, it is expected to continue raining very hard across Hampden, Monson, Ludlow and Palmer for at least the next 30 minutes. Further north, very heavy rain is expected to continue in and around Belchertown, Ware, Pelham, Shutesbury and Orange for at least the next hour. This very heavy rain is likely to lead to flooding of roads and highways, as well as flooding of low-lying areas and areas of poor drainage.

Moderate to heavy rain is likely to continue falling from Sturbridge and Southbridge to Charlton and northward into the Worcester Hills to the west and northwest of the city of Worcester for at least the next 45 minutes to one hour.

2:30 pm Wednesday Afternoon Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Bands of heavy rain continue to pivot north and northwestward across the region at the time of this post. In-between these bands of heavy rain, breaks in the clouds have developed revealing some sunshine for a short-time. There are a couple of bands of heavy rain that I do want to mention:

The first band of very heavy rain stretches just to the west of I-91 from Agawam, Feeding Hills and Westfield northward through Southampton and Williamsburg. This band of very heavy rain is moving almost due north & perhaps a little to the northwest. Because of this, many of the hilltowns just west of I-91 are likely to see very heavy rain for at least the next hour, if not longer. This means that flooding of roads, low-lying areas and areas of poor drainage is highly likely. I will be watching this band of very heavy rain closely, in case it pivots into the I-91 corridor.

A second area of moderate to heavy rain is currently set up from near Wilbraham and Monson northward through Belchertown, Pelham, Petersham and Athol. This moderate to heavy rain is likely to continue across the eastern hilltowns of Western Mass for about the next hour or so as it pivots to the northwest.

Heavy rain is also currently occurring all around the Worcester Metro, as well as along I-190, I-290, I-395 and Route 146. Additional heavy rain is now pivoting northwestward from northeastern Connecticut and will reach areas from Sturbridge and Southbridge to Charlton within the next 15 minutes or so & then push into the Worcester Hills west of the city of Worcester in about 30-45 minutes from now. This heavy rain is likely to produce ponding of water on roads and highways, as well as flooding of low-lying areas & areas of poor drainage.

More updates will be posted as needed.

Midday Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Rain continues to fall across the entire area at the midday hour. In addition, we have bands of heavy rain that are pivoting from southeast to northwest through the area leading to periods of heavy to even very heavy rain to fall as they move through.

It is expected that rain will continue throughout this afternoon across the entire area. It appears that this rain will evolve into more lines of heavy rain where it may rain really hard at your location for a while & then stop for a time before it starts up again.

This rain is still expected to continue through tonight before it becomes more in the way of scattered showers during the day on Thursday.

Flooding is going to continue to be a concern during this afternoon and tonight. This flooding will include street flooding, highway flooding, poor drainage flooding and flooding of low-lying areas. Additionally, flooding of streams and small rivers are also going to be a concern this afternoon & tonight, especially in areas that see heavy downpours that continually move over the same locations.

Those of you out and about during this afternoon and tonight should use extreme caution when traveling. Heavy rain will produce low visibility on roads that will likely have ponding of water on them. Hydroplaning is also going to be a risk when traveling today & tonight, so again, use caution when out and about.

Additional updates will be sent out as needed during this afternoon and tonight.