About 1,000 National Guard troops were ready for action on Tuesday as more rain pounded Massachusetts, threatening to make it the wettest March on record and putting additional strain on residents already weary of dealing with flooded yards and basements.
Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and emergency management officials were monitoring rivers across the state that were expected to reach flood stage as another two to four inches of rain was expected.
The National Weather Service says more than 11 inches of rain had fallen on Boston as of Monday, and the rain expected Tuesday could break the monthly rainfall record set in 1953.
The weather has caused a run on basement sump pumps at the state’s hardware and home improvement stores.
Jim Tatarczuk, manager of Amesbury Industrial Supply Co. Inc., tells The Newburyport News his store would normally stock about 130 pumps for the spring, but he has sold nearly [...]

Original post by Associated Press