Hurricane Leslie may be well offshore of New England, but Falmouth and the rest of Barnstable County are predicted to still feel an impact for the next few days.
The National Weather Service has issued an advisory for much of southeastern Massachusetts and coastal Rhode Island, warning of high surf and dangerous rip currents at all ocean beaches. Breakers of 12 feet or more are also possible. The high surf and rip tides are anticipated to begin this morning, and continue Sunday, and possibly into next week. The threats will lessen on south-facing beaches, but persist for east-facing beaches for a few days longer.
High surf and strong riptides are a danger to swimmers, surfers and to onlookers. Many beaches do not have lifeguards after Labor Day. Onlookers standing on rocks, jetties or sea walls can easily be washed off the rocks by the powerful surf.
Due to the high surf, some inlet and harbor entrances will have swells that make navigation difficult for operators of small crafts.
A strong cold front is forecasted to move through the area late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning, producing heavy rains and thunderstorms. These storms could bring damaging winds and heavy rain, possibly causing localized flooding in low-lying or poor drainage areas.