Supermoon Blamed for Winter Storm Flooding in Boston, Really!

The supermoon is being blamed for the winter storm that tore through the East Coast, causing massive flooding in Boston on Thursday.

Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Daily Beast that a combination of snow, hurricane-level winds and cold, combined with the recent lunar event, meant that the flooding was inevitable.

It comes down to a case of unfortunate timing. The storm happened to hit during high tide, which was intensified by Monday's supermoon, wreaking havoc on the city and surrounding coastal areas, CBS News noted.

According to The Boston Herald, the gravitational pull of the sun and moon caused tides to soar to 12.1 feet high, while the storm surge of about 3 feet on top of that resulted in the flooding.

"Leading up to the tide, we had hurricane-force winds and 20-foot waves on coasts facing the Atlantic," Sipprell told The Daily Beast. "There was a 2- to 3-foot surge that got driven into inner bays and inundated a lot of infrastructure, roads, and basements into Nantucket."

The flooding is the worst that Boston has seen in 40 years, and now subzero temperatures are causing the water to turn to ice, CBS News reported.

"It was definitely one of the highest storm tides on record," said Hayden Frank, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, according to The Boston Herald.

Thousands of Boston residents were left without power on Thursday night as about 14 inches of snow was dumped across the city, The Washington Post said.

Meanwhile icy water surged through the streets, prompting officials to warn residents to stay off the streets.

Sipprell recounted an apocalyptic scene, describing how cars and debris were floating away while water surged into basements.

"It was just coming down and it was like up to my waist," said Massachusetts resident Jennifer Cametti about the flooding, according to The Washington Post.

"It was really scary and I wanted to get out," added Nicole Cametti. "They [rescuers] came up to the front door and they, like he put me over his shoulders and put me in the car."

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