Flood Watch: Buckets of Rain in the Forecast

In a weather swing that may seem extreme even for New England, there’s a flood watch in effect for much of the region, including Lexington.

According to a National Weather Service’s flood watch advisory released around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, rain is expected to be heavy at times tonight and into tomorrow, with a total rainfall of between two and four inches.

“Flooding of poor drainage and urban areas is anticipated,” the Flood Watch says, “Along with potential small stream flooding. Main stem rivers are expected to remain below flood stage.”

The NWS forecast for tonight calls for rain that’s heavy at times, with patchy fog, a northeast wind that gusts up to 34 miles per hour and temps falling to 45 degrees around 9 p.m. but rising back up to 53 after that. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Two to three inches are possible overnight, with another three-quarters of an inch in the forecast for Monday morning, the service says.

It was a forecast ominous enough that, by 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, the Red Sox made the call to postpone their 8:05 p.m. game against the New York Yankees.

The flood watch is quite a reverse of course for the weather of late, and comes at a time when the U.S. Drought Monitor depicts most of Massachusetts as being in a moderate to severe drought conditions.

So warm and dry has it been that outdoor burning has been discouraged for most of of the past month, and several days the conditions were so severe the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning, including one when a .