Westport Weather: Rain, Coastal Flood Warning, Wind Warning

Mother Nature's going to be playing with her winter toys today, with the National Weather Service forecasting rain, snow and sleet, mainly after 4 p.m., along with a Coastal Flood Warning and a High Wind Warning.

So don't dawdle at those after-Christmas sales this afternoon. The good news is that, while you should have your snow shovel and salt ready (just in case!), it looks like any snow will be washed away by the rain. Quite a bit of rain, as a matter of fact.

Flooding, too

For those of you in low-lying areas along the shore, the weather service has upped its "Coastal Flood Watch," issued earlier, to a more serious "Coastal Flood Warning" from 8 p.m. to midnight, when the tide is highest. The warning is for western Long Island Sound, including Westport.

Tides should be 3 to 5 feet above normal and affect "vulnerable shore roads and/or basements."

Wind and gusts

For the New York metropolitan area, Long Island and coastal Connecticut, including Westport, the weather service's "High Wind Warning" is in effect from 4 p.m. this afternoon through 6 a.m. Thursday.

Forecasters say there could be winds of 25 to 40 mph and gusts of up to 60 mph.

"Winds of this magnitude will likely down trees and tree limbs, power lines and holiday decorations and cause minor property damage," according to the wind-warning forecast. "Power outages are possible. Driving high profile vehicles will be difficult, especially on elevated roadways and bridges.

Westport weather forecast

Here's what the National Weather Service predicts in its specific forecast for Westport:

The high temperature Wednesday should be a chilly 39, with breezy winds of 11 to 18 mph and winds gusting to as high as 36 mph. The chance of precipitation is 100 percent, but the snow and sleet combination is less than half an inch.

Wednesday night the rain could be heavy and the temperature should dip to 35 degrees with winds of 24 to 30 mph and gusts as high as 50 mph. We might get as much as 1 to 2 inches of rain.

Do you really want to be out in that weather tonight?

Here's the weather service for the rest of the week and the weekend:

• Thursday: Rain, mainly before noon. High near 46. East wind 14 to 17 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
• Thursday night: A slight chance of rain before midnight. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 11 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 39. Northwest wind 8 to 11 mph.
• Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.
• Saturday: A slight chance of snow before noon, then a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
• Saturday night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 25. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
• Sunday: A chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.
• Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.