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Boston's Morning Newsletter
How Tropical Storm Debby will impact New England, from flight delays to possible flooding
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
I’m not complaining about these refreshing 60-degree mornings. We’re in store for another round of mild, dry weather today — enjoy it before the rain and heat return:
The Debby effect: More showers are on the way this week, thanks to remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. After drenching the Carolinas, the storm is on track to sideswipe Massachusetts. Meteorologist Danielle Noyes forecasts the Boston area will see off-and-on showers Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. Though there’s a chance of additional scattered thunderstorms today, the National Weather Service says to expect the heaviest downpours Friday night.
- The timing: Want to avoid getting drenched this weekend? The NWS has day-by-day precipitation probability charts for over a dozen Massachusetts communities here.
- Up in the air: Hundreds of flights in and out of Logan Airport have already been disrupted over the last few days — including over 200 delays and three-dozen cancellations yesterday. Massport officials expect that to continue; there are another 61 delays and four cancelations as of 8 a.m. Thursday (with Boston having the third-most delays so far across the country, according to this cool interactive map). Massport suggests checking with your airline if you have travel plans along the East Coast.
- On the ground: There could be some localized flooding Friday night into Saturday. Noyes says rain totals will be around half an inch for most of the state, though as much as 1 to 2 inches are possible on Cape Cod. (Sunday looks like the best beach day.)
- Not again: Noyes says the highest amount of rain is expected to hit Vermont — parts of which are still recovering from multiple rounds of flooding this summer.
Show me a HERO: Gov. Maura Healey will put pen to paper again today, signing into law a sweeping veterans bill. The so-called HERO Act was one of the few pieces of legislation that made it to the governor’s desk last week, as lawmakers struggled to find compromise on several big bills before the end of regular formal sessions. But given the relatively small differences between the House and Senate versions of the veterans bill, they were able to reach a deal there.
- Zoom in: The bill includes a handful of new benefits for veterans, like increasing both the state’s annual payments to disabled veterans and its business tax credit for hiring a veteran from $2,000 to $2,500. The bill also waives the fee for certain specialty veterans license plates and expands access to behavioral health treatment. And it makes it easier for cities and towns to increase the state’s property tax exemption for veterans.
- Zoom out: Healey’s office said the bill is the “first time in 20 years” that a Massachusetts governor has introduced a “comprehensive and expansive” veterans welfare package.
Meanwhile in Paris: The U.S. women’s artistic swimming team — including 21-year-old Andover native Ruby Remati — won the silver medal yesterday in the Olympics. It’s Team USA’s first medal in the sport since 2004. (You may know it as synchronized swimming, but there’s a lot more to the sport than just synchronization.)
- The U.S. figure skating team was also awarded gold medals yesterday in Paris — and yes, I know what you’re thinking. “I thought these were the Summer Games?” However, the ceremony was for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, following two years of controversy and legal wrangling over a doping scandal.
P.S.— The second episode of our relaunched weekly podcast The Common features a walk through the history — and actual landscape — of Franklin Park. Click here to listen and learn about some of The Common team’s favorite discoveries in the park.
