Node 10 issue: Warning: Task "sync:dev" not found, when updating any *.less file in styles folder

The problem is that I can't use styles for my application, because any modifications to *.less files cause grunt to fail. Here is what I've got in the terminal:

debug: -------------------------------------------------------
error: ** Grunt :: An error occurred. **
error: 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aborted due to warnings.
Running "watch" task
Waiting...
>> File "assets/styles/importer.less" changed.
Loading "sync.js" tasks...ERROR
>> TypeError: Cannot read property 'length' of undefined
Warning: Task "sync:dev" not found. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

error: Looks like a Grunt error occurred--
error: Please fix it, then **restart Sails** to resume watching for changes to assets:
error:      CTRL+C, then `sails lift`
error: Or if you're stuck, check out the troubleshooting tips below.

error: Troubleshooting tips:
error: 
error:  *-> Are "grunt" and any custom Grunt plugins you're using installed in this project?
error:      Run `npm install` if you're not sure.
error: 
error:  *-> You might have a typo in one of your LESS files, etc.
error: 
error:  *-> Or maybe you don't have permissions to access the `.tmp` directory?
error:      e.g., `/home/user18/Projects/test/t1/.tmp` ?
error: 
error:      If you think this might be the case, try running:
error:      sudo chown -R 1000 /home/user18/Projects/test/t1/.tmp
error: 
error:  *-> If you're still unsure, drop by https://sailsjs.com/support.

Sails version: v1.0.2
Node version: v10.10.0
NPM version: v6.4.1
DB adapter name: N/A
DB adapter version: N/A
Operating system: Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS

Steps to reproduce:

1. npm install -g sails
2. sails new t1 (choose any option)
3. cd ./t1
4. sails lift
5. touch ./assets/styles/importer.less

Reproduce the failure with the listed sails new, sails lift, and importer.less steps. Start by inspecting the asset watch path that loads sync.js and the Grunt task configuration; done means modifying any LESS file no longer raises the sync:dev warning or aborts the watcher.