Flood in Massachusetts, January 29 to 30, 1996

Preceding a sharp cold front, which was approaching from the west, gale to storm force south winds with gusts to hurricane force, heavy rainfall of 1 to 2 inches, and very mild temperatures rising into the 50s occurred. There were many wind gusts reported in the range of 50 to 70 mph with isolated gusts to 80 to 90 mph. A peak gust to 67 mph was recorded at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton at an elevation of 660 feet. This was the strongest wind gust at this weather station since Hurricane Gloria in September, 1985.There were numerous trees and tree limbs being blown down, causing scattered power outages. There also were many reports of property damage, including an 80-foot section of roof torn from a hangar at Worcester Municipal Airport, where a gust to 52 mph was recorded by the automated weather station. In Tyngsboro, a large tree limb crashed down, crushing and destroying two automobiles and narrowly missing the driver of one of those vehicles. In Newton, a 100-foot by 20-foot section of roof blew off an office building and a tree crashed into the second story of a house. In Quincy, an exterior wall was ripped from a condominium but the building remained habitable. In Marlboro, a large sign broke loose, downing a power cable. Street flooding was reported in many areas during the heavy rain as snow and ice clogged catch basins. Rainfall totals ranged from 1.5 to 2.0 inches in the Greater Boston area. Minor flooding occurred along several rivers within 12 to 48 hours following the heavy rainfall. Three rivers in eastern Massachusetts had minor flooding, including the Charles, Blackstone, and Nashua. The Charles river crested at 5.1 feet at Dover at 8 AM on the 28thh and again at 5.1 feet at 7 PM on the 30th; flood stage there is 5.0 feet. The Blackstone River crested at 9.2 feet at Northbridge at 6 AM on the 28th; flood stage is 9.0 feet. The Nashua River crested at East Pepperell on the 29th at 10 PM at 8.5 feet; flood stage is 8.0 feet.