High winds could cause problems across Massachusetts Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph expected, National Weather Service forecasters predict.
“Tree damage and power outages are expected,” the weather service warned.
For most of the day Wednesday, winds are expected to remain around 20-25 mph with temperatures in the 50s, near 60 in some spots.
But starting around 7 p.m., there will likely be a fast-moving line of gusty showers and embedded thunderstorms capable of isolated or sporadic wind damage.
Wind gusts in the 55 to 60 mph range are expected to last overnight into early Thursday.
During the day on Thursday, wind gusts are likely to be around 25-40 mph. And daytime highs will be in the mid 40s to low 50s, “which will feel even colder given the winds, with wind chills around the freezing mark for the higher terrain during the day.”
On Monday, meteorologists with the National Weather Service said there were signs of a “gustnado” in Massachusetts.
The agency describes a gustnado as a small, whirlwind that forms as a current going in the opposite direction during a thunderstorm.
“They do not connect with any cloud-base rotation and are not tornadoes,” the agency states online. “Like dust devils, some stronger gustnadoes can cause damage.”
Most reports came from Swansea, but there were some other reports in southern Rehoboth.
“No tornado we can discern,” Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said on Tuesday. “[A gustnado] is more likely that it would be if there was anything.”
“Most people have seen one at some point,” Belk said. “You see them at the beach … dust devils are pretty similar, not necessarily here, but in the southwest desert.”
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