Deluge

Record March Rain Soaks Northeast

Rhode Island braces for severe flooding.

To put it mildly, the Northeast is sodden. The Associated Press reports that while the second record storm to soak the region this month is winding down, rivers from Maine to New York won't crest until Wednesday or Thursday, and Rhode Island is preparing for its worst flood in 100 years. The weather broke March rain records in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and parts of New York City, and shattered records in Providence, Rhode Island, where this month, with more than 15 inches of rain, became the rainiest month on record. For now, the National Guard has been called out to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to deal with flooding. The rain has closed parts of Interstate 95 in Rhode Island; washed away parking lots in Connecticut; broken a Maine dam; and put standing water on the roads of many states. Not even the fisherman escaped unscathed, with shellfish beds in Rhode Island and Massachusetts closed thanks to sewage overflow and failures at wastewater treatment plants.