STORM STUNS REGION
Hundreds of thousands of Bay State homes remained dark last night after heavy winds and thunderstorms knocked down trees and power lines across the Northeast.
Wind gusts from the storm topped 60 mph and on Cape Cod a gust in Mashpee reached 93 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Nocera.
The storm also wreaked havoc on morning commutes. Two commuter rail trains to Haverhill were canceled due to a fallen tree in Bradford. A downed tree in West Medford caused delays on the Lowell line as well. On the MBTA, buses replaced Green Line D branch service between Newton Highlands and Beaconsfield stations for emergency tree removal near the tracks.
Nocera said the storms have moved on, giving way to cool, dry weather.
“It’s going to be a pretty decent couple of days,” he said. “It’s going to seem cold to most folks, but the temperatures are going to be seasonal.”
Power outages will be a lingering problem. As of last night, National Grid said 194,000 homes were without electricity throughout Massachusetts. Another 25,000 Eversource customers were down.
“Damage assessment and restoration efforts are underway but restoration will be a multi-day effort due to the extensive damage,” National Grid stated on its website. “Crews are working on repairing transmission lines first, which will restore power to large groups of customers.”
Gov. Charlie Baker says power restoration will not be “a one-day thing.”
Maine was also hit hard, with more than 490,000 homes and businesses losing electricity. New Hampshire officials said the storm left 450,000 residents without power.
Immediately after the storm, more than 300,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts were without power and roads across the region were blocked by downed trees and limbs. Amtrak suspended service between Boston and New Haven, Conn., due to power outages. Dozens of schools across Massachusetts closed or delayed start times.