Elsa packing heavy rain, high winds as she storms toward New Hampshire

Elsa may have been downgraded to a tropical storm but she packs a punch, and that punch will land in the northern Seacoast later today.

A flash flood watch is already in effect for Rochester and all of Strafford County from 8 p.m. this evening till 8 p.m. on Friday with up to 2-4 inches of rain predicted and 40-60 mph winds.

Elsa, which pounded Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, is traveling a narrow path straight up the coast and will begin lashing the coasts of Southern New England today.

As of this posting Elsa is about 210 miles from Wilmington, N.C. with peak gusts of 60 mph and sustained winds of 25-39 mph.

As Elsa tracks northward along the coast, it should remain far enough inland that the chances of intensification back to a tropical storm remains low. However, if Elsa were to move off the southern New England coast, its intensification back to a tropical storm would be more likely, according to Accuweather meteorologists. If this were to happen, it would occur during the day Friday.

Look for scattered thunderstorms through the late afternoon and evening today with the heavy downpours expected to begin Friday morning around 10 a.m. Rain will continue throughout the day and won't end till late evening.

Saturday is forecast to be cloudy but little chance of serious rain, so Rochester's fireworks display is still scheduled.

Fireworks display organizers said at Tuesday's City Council meeting that if rain postpones the event this Saturday they will reschedule it for the Labor Day weekend.