Tropical Storm Watch Issued As Hanna Moves Up Coast

BOSTON -- A tropical storm watch was issued Friday as the Bay State prepares for a lot of wet, windy weather from Tropical Storm Hanna.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch from Saturday morning through Sunday morning for most of Massachusetts.

Forecast Maps | Mike's Hurricane Forecast

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino instructed all city departments to remain on standby with extra staff for possible emergency response during the storm.

Residents were urged to clear catch basins in their area of debris that could prevent proper water drainage and to secure all outdoor furniture and grills.

Resorts on the islands and Cape Cod were preparing to move weddings and other events indoors, should rain or wind menace the festivities.

Hanna, or the remnants of Hanna, will sweep across the region Saturday night with periods of showers and thunderstorms with heavy downpours and gusty winds. Lows will be in the 60s.

What is left of Hanna will move away from the region rapidly Sunday morning with high pressure building in during the afternoon.

With the storm still hours away from hitting the Massachusetts coastline, residents were busily gearing up for what promises to be a pretty nasty storm.

Concerns about Hanna prompted concert organizers to change the start time of Saturday's Jimmy Buffett concert at the Comcast Center in Mansfield.

The concert was scheduled for Saturday night but will now begin at 3 p.m., the Sun Chronicle reported. Organizers said the potential for heavy rain and strong wind gusts in the Mansfield area was behind the move.

StormTeam 5 meteorologist Mike Wankum said although Friday may seem muggy and warm, it's just the calm before the storm. Hanna should arrive between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday morning. It is a quick-moving storm and should be off the coast by 5:30 a.m.

Marinas along the South Coast have been busy for the past 24 hours as boat owners pull their vessels from the water. Local emergency management officials have also been finalizing plans and NStar has already put on additional crews anticipating that strong winds may bring down power lines.

That may be minor compared to what the storm has already done in the Caribbean. In Haiti, at least 137 people have already been killed by the storm and it's on a path to hit the southeastern United States coastline, then rip north along the eastern seaboard toward Massachusetts.

The storm is expected to hit New England with 40 to 45 mph winds and up to four inches of rain. In Mattapoisset, Mass., boat owners were pulling boats from the unprotected harbor on Thursday.

"We put the plan into place, we make these roads one-way for the boat hauling, and police are trying to keep people away," Linda Brownell of Mattapoisset said.

No one there wants to take chances after Hurricane Bob hit the Massachusetts coast 17 years ago. Many rebuilt their homes since then, elevating their homes on stilts high above the tide. Even so, they know what to expect from a strong storm.

"See all those sailboats there?" one man asked. "They'll be on the docks here, and those sailboats will be on the beach there."

In Rhode Island, the state Emergency Management Agency is opening an operations center to monitor the storm.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell says 200 National Guardsmen are on standby to help.

"If nothing else it's a good dress rehearsal for Ike if Ike were to come," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.