Torrential rains, flash floods and a likely tornado hit New England. Hurricane Lee is up next

Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado.

Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado.

A hurricane watch stretches from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border, where hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding are possible Friday night and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday night.

Areas from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Stonington, Maine -- including Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket -- are under a tropical storm watch. A storm surge watch has also been issued for Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket with the potential for life-threatening flooding there late Friday and Saturday.

The looming arrival of the hurricane threatened to unleash more violent storms on a region that earlier in the week saw 10 inches (25 centimetres) of rainfall over six hours and on Wednesday saw communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island deal with tornado warnings and more heavy rain that opened up sinkholes and brought devastating flooding to several areas.

The National Weather Service in Boston said radar data and videos showed it was likely that a tornado damaged trees and power lines in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. In Lincoln, Rhode Island, photos after the storm showed at least one roof damaged and the press box at the high school stadium tipped into the bleachers.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said on social media that the state's emergency operations centre was activated and would be monitoring the fast-changing weather conditions over the next few days.

"The best thing you can do right now: Stay tuned for frequent updates," McKee said.