Tropical
Updated Hurricane Sandy Southern New England wind timeline

The wind will begin to increase Sunday afternoon as Hurricane Sandy draws closer to the Northeastern United States. Even though the center of the storm is expected to make landfall in the southern half of New Jersey, there will be wind impacts in Southern New England comparable to, or worse than, Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The following tables indicate a timeline of the wind potential for various areas in Southeastern New England. If your city/town is not listed, it is easy to get an idea of what the wind will be like by looking at the forecast for a nearby city/town. In general terms, the peak winds will occur Monday afternoon and/or Monday evening.

Central RI & Interior SE MA (Providence Metro, East/West Bay, Taunton)
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Sun 2pm
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Sun 8pm
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Mon 8am
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Mon 2pm
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Mon 8pm
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Tue 2am
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Sustained |
15-25 mph
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15-30 mph
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25-35 mph
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35-45 mph
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35-50 mph
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20-30 mph
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Gusts |
25-35 mph
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30-40 mph
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35-45 mph
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45-60 mph
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50-60 mph
|
30-45 mph
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Coastal RI
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Sun 2pm
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Sun 8pm
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Mon 8am
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Mon 2pm
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Mon 8pm
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Tue 2am
|
|
Sustained |
20-30 mph
|
20-35 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
40-50 mph
|
40-55 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
Gusts |
30-40 mph
|
35-45 mph
|
40-50 mph
|
50-65 mph
|
55-75 mph
|
40-50 mph
|
Inland RI, Worcester County, NE CT
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Sun 2pm
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Sun 8pm
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Mon 8am
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Mon 2pm
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Mon 8pm
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Tue 2am
|
|
Sustained |
15-20 mph
|
15-25 mph
|
20-30 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
30-45 mph
|
20-30 mph
|
Gusts |
20-30 mph
|
25-35 mph
|
30-45 mph
|
40-55 mph
|
45-60 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
Coastal Southeastern Massachusetts from Westport to Bourne Bridge
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Sun 2pm
|
Sun 8pm
|
Mon 8am
|
Mon 2pm
|
Mon 8pm
|
Tue 2am
|
|
Sustained |
15-30 mph
|
25-25 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
45-55 mph
|
45-55 mph
|
20-35 mph
|
Gusts |
30-40 mph
|
35-45 mph
|
40-55 mph
|
60-75 mph
|
60-75 mph
|
35-45 mph
|
Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island
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Sun 2pm
|
Sun 8pm
|
Mon 8am
|
Mon 2pm
|
Mon 8pm
|
Tue 2am
|
|
Sustained |
20-30 mph
|
25-40 mph
|
35-45 mph
|
50-65 mph
|
45-60 mph
|
25-40 mph
|
Gusts |
30-40 mph
|
40-50 mph
|
45-60 mph
|
65-80 mph
|
60-75 mph
|
40-50 mph
|
Boston and Massachusetts East Coast
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Sun 2pm
|
Sun 8pm
|
Mon 8am
|
Mon 2pm
|
Mon 8pm
|
Tue 2am
|
|
Sustained |
15-25 mph
|
15-30 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
40-55 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
15-30 mph
|
Gusts |
25-35 mph
|
30-40 mph
|
40-55 mph
|
55-75 mph
|
40-60 mph
|
30-40 mph
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Hi Fred! You are the only one i trust for the weather updates! Thank you for doing a great job!! Just had a question..is Warwick considered Coastal Ri?
Thanks! Warwick is in the Providence Metro area.
Doing a great job. If you had to take your best guess, do you think many private and public schools may close on Monday? Looks like the timeline is going to put them in a very difficult spot all through RI and MA,
Answered in live blog
This is looking so much better than the worst case situation. Hopefully it won’t be any worse.
Fred, as you are posting the expected winds, I am wondering what wind speed is considered too dangerous to drive in? When do we decide we should stay put at home?
Answered at 6:18 pm in live blog
I am so happy you have started this website and fully appreciate the updates you do here and on facebook. Keep up the good work .
Been following you for sometime now, your updates are helping us plan
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! Yours is the only website I’m looking at – full of facts and advice without overhyping.
We are in Warwick Neck right on the beach. You stated that Warwick is considered Providence Metro — so should I be looking at that and not the coastal report?
Thanks!
Great stuff as always Fred. Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Could you post the link to the live blog that you keep referring to, please? Thank you.
Here it is. As of this evening, it is only available to Right Weather Pro members. http://bit.ly/WRRm6L
Fred, we have never boarded our windows before, but I have 3 large picture windows (do people still call them that? 🙂 ). Two face west, one faces east. Am I correct that most of our wind will come from easterly direction? I am in Middletown about a mile straight up from 1st beach. Should we board our east window ( that is, if there is any plywood left at Home Depot)? Also, can I change my username to Peg?!
Peg, that’s a tough call on boarding up the windows. You may see some hurricane gusts in your area. I would just do the east window because it is facing the strongest wind direction. Unfortunately, you can’t change your username in the system. Sorry!
Thanks, Fred. My husband reminded me that our windows have a protruding metal strip which makes boarding impractical… And also that I worry too much. 🙂 Thanks for the confirmation on the east wind direction. Hang in there, you’re doing great stuff.
Hi Fred, Do you think they are going to be closing the Bourne/Sagamore Bridges at any point?
I’m not sure of the criteria, but I would have to imagine that, at least, high profile vehicles will be prevented from crossing those bridges tomorrow.