Isaias' winds will pack an afternoon punch along Northern Seacoast

Graphic shows Isaias' likely path and threats along the way.

Isaias will be a tropical storm when it hits the Greater Rochester area this afternoon, but it will still be plenty strong enough to topple trees, down power lines and wreak havoc on the afternoon commute, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Gray said today.

Meteorologist Michael Clair said the eye of the former Category I hurricane will track northward at the New Hampshire-Vermont border, dumping the heaviest rainfall to the west and the stronger winds to the east.

The threat to trees is severe, he said, because they have all the weight of their leaves on them making them easier to be torn from their roots.

In the Northern Seacoast Clair said wind gusts of 50 mph out of the south-southeast can be expected, with the threat of thunderstorms and even an isolated tornado.

"We saw several (tornadoes) overnight as it passed through mid-Atlantic states," he added.

Clair said to expect 1-3 inches of rain, which could cause some localized street and stream flooding, but nothing serious.

"The storm is moving pretty fast at 28 mph, so it's running out of time, and continues to weaken," he said.

He said Rochester should see the end of Isaias' effects by midnight.

Forecasters also expect coastal flooding throughout New England.