Nor’easter punishes New England with rain, flooding and snow

A nor’easter slammed into New England with freezing rain, 60-mph winds and flooding, and up to 6 inches of snow was expected in western Massachusetts by Tuesday night.

Numerous state routes on Cape Cod and in the greater Boston area were temporarily closed because of flooding throughout the day. Rain drenched the coast from Boston to Cape Cod and south to Rhode Island.

The storm arrived late Monday night, coating roads in southeast Massachusetts with rain and black ice and causing at least 40 crashes or spin-outs, said State Police spokesman Matthew Guarino.

Most drivers had minor injuries, he said; no fatalities were reported.

The freezing rain stopped Tuesday morning, but heavy rain continued to fall, causing urban flooding, the National Weather Service said.

The storm was expected to move northwest into western Massachusetts and upstate New York on Tuesday night.

By 8:30 p.m., about 2.5 inches of snow had fallen in Monroe, about 140 miles west of Boston and at 1,500 elevation, the weather service said. Sleet and rain were part of the wintry mix. As much as 6 inches of snow was expected at higher elevations.

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