'Bomb cyclone' leads to historic coastal flooding in Massachusetts

Snow may be dominating headlines in the wake of Thursday's "bomb cyclone," but coastal flooding has proven to be another serious danger in places along the East Coast.

In addition to blizzard conditions, Massachusetts has been walloped with the combination of astronomical high tides and strong onshore winds up to 75 mph. The resulting coastal flooding reached record levels in Boston, beating the old benchmark reached during the Blizzard of '78, with severe flooding reported all along the coast.

Flood waters took over sidewalks and streets, trapped cars, and shut down subway stations. The severity of the floods, exceeded the region's benchmark storm, was caused by a combination of high astronomical tides from Monday's supermoon, the timing of the storm that brought the strongest winds onto the coast at high tide, and a rising sea level over the past few decades.

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'The Blizzard of '78' gets some competition

In February of 1978 a winter storm struck New England that set records and killed 54 people. Much like that fierce storm, this year's bomb cyclone's high tides and fierce winds meant a lot of flooding.

In Boston back in '78, waves reached higher than 10 feet. Thursday's images of seawalls being breached and water pouring into streets were eerily reminiscent of the major blizzard 40 years ago.

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The Blizzard of 1978 was devastating. Today’s "bomb cyclone" toppled those records with just one tide cycle.

Brutal scenes in Boston

Flood levels hit record highs in Boston, according to the National Weather Service.

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As the "bomb cyclone" continues to rage on, photos and videos shared on social media show water flowing throughout low-lying areas in Boston, carrying massive chunks of ice.

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The Aquarium train Station was closed down as a result of the floods.

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In an afternoon tweet, Boston's National Weather Service forecast office noted that though water from the coastal flooding will take hours and perhaps days to drain, they believe the worst is behind them. But super cold temperatures coming in next will likely cause water that's washed ashore to freeze.

Other parts of Massachusetts and the Northeast

Boston isn't the only part of Massachusetts that experienced flooding. Cities like Salem and Gloucester also saw treacherous water levels as the snow fell.

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Coastal flooding has also affected Maine and New Hampshire, as well as New Jersey, among other states.

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Meanwhile in Baltimore, the same bomb cyclone brought powerful winds out of the west, which pushed water away, bringing in the lowest tide levels since 1997.

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