High Wind, Flood Warnings For North Shore Monday Mid-Morning

SALEM, MA — While snow and ice should not be a major concern on the North Shore for the next winter storm, utility companies on Sunday were already bracing for power outages that could occur amid high winds and coastal flooding forecast for Monday.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency on Sunday issued warnings for "potentially damaging winds on Monday morning; up to 70 mph gusts possible along eastern MA coast including Cape Ann & Cape Cod areas."

The National Weather Service said that while most areas of Eastern Mass. will have changed over from any snow or sleet to rain by Monday morning, it issued both a High Wind Warning and Coastal Flood Warning for the entire North Shore.

Most of the area is under a "moderate flood watch" for the high tide Monday morning with a storm surge of 3 to 6 feet of water. That means vulnerable shore roads could be under up to a foot of water. Vulnerable basements could also experience flooding.

Some beach erosion and high-risk surf are likely with the greatest threats to north- and northeast-facing shorelines.

The High Wind Warning was declared for 1 a.m. to noon and the Coastal Flood Warning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

An offshore Marine Storm Warning was also declared for 1 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The NWS is calling for 45 to 50 mph winds in Boston and immediately north, 55 to 60 mph winds through an area that includes North Shore coastal areas inside of Route 95, and up to 70 mph winds along the immediate coast.

"We're closely monitoring a storm expected to bring snow, rain & wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour in MA & RI," National Grid said in a statement. "High winds can damage trees and knock down power wires. We urge customers to keep away from downed lines and report them immediately to us at 800-465-1212 or 911."

Eversource issued a similar statement: "Monday's storm is expected to bring damaging winds. We have hundreds of line, tree and service workers, including additional contractors, ready to restore any power outages as quickly and safely as possible."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)