Tropical Storm Hanna caused scattered power outages and flooding as it whipped through the Merrimack Valley last night.
More rain was expected to fall overnight and into this morning, though, potentially causing more serious problems.
"We're going to have a wet night," William Babcock, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said last night. He said the heaviest rains were expected to fall between midnight and 4 a.m.
As of 11 last night, public works crews in Andover, North Andover, Lawrence and Methuen were all dealing with flooded out roads. State police said the heavy rains contributed to numerous accidents on interstates 93 and 495.
Andover police and fire were called to Union Street under 495 just before 11 p.m. to rescue a woman who became trapped when she tried to drive her car through deep water.
Babcock predicted 3 to 6 inches or rain throughout the valley, with as much as eight inches in some areas. He said the area would probably be hit with sustained winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour, with individual gusts that could reach up to 50 mph by midnight.
He said the heavy amount of rain in a short time would lead to flooding in poor drainage areas and on roads in low lying areas near small creeks and streams.
There were no major power outages reported last night by National Grid.
"We have a crew of 1,000 people in New England ready to attack any problems or storm-related issues at sunrise," National Grid spokesman David Graves said. "There are skeleton crews available to hit any emergency tonight."
The threat of torrential rain and high winds generated by Hanna forced organizers of the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival to cancel the fireworks scheduled for last night.
But Hampton, N.H. police said they expected other festival events to go on as planned today, as weather forecasters were optimistic about a warm and sunny afternoon.
"As we get into the period of 9 (a.m.) to noon, the winds should start to diminish and the afternoon should become mostly sunny with temperatures in the 80s," Babcock said.
