Storm knocks out power to more than 260,000 in Massachusetts

BOSTON - A powerful wind and rain storm knocked out power to over 260,000 customers in Massachusetts on Monday.

By 11 p.m., there were 180,000 outages, with National Grid reporting more than 116,000 while Eversource had more than 65,000 customers still without power in Eastern Massachusetts. 

Pepperell, Hopedale, Plainville, Millis, Marshfield, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Rehoboth, Cohasset, Scituate, Mendon, Duxbury, Plympton, Millville, Newbury, Southbridge, Norwell and Carver were some of the hardest-hit towns according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency power outage map. 

In Scituate, emergency management officials said 99% of the town is without power and full restoration could take up to 72 hours.

"At 8:30 this morning we had 30 people without power, and we were feeling pretty good about ourselves," said Scituate Town Administrator Jim Boudreau. "And then between 9:30-10:30 the storm just revved up and everything just started going down."

Schools in town will be closed Tuesday, and residents who are looking to stay warm or charge their devices can go to the senior center, town library or town hall.

"It's going to be a long process because we have to have crews come out and actually check the lines before they can reenergize those areas," Boudreau said.

Police and fire departments around Massachusetts warned drivers of hazards in the road caused by the damaging wind gusts. In Braintree, the storm brought down overhead traffic lights at Five Corners.

And in Upton, police said Mendon Street was closed after a tree fell onto powerlines and a passing car. No one was injured in the incident. 

The Wayland Fire Department posted that wires fell on a school bus on Loker Road. Everyone was able to get out safely. The Weymouth Public Schools superintendent said schools would be dismissed early after a half day because of power outages across the district. 

Other reports from weather spotters said there were trees down in Boston, Haverhill, Westport, Dartmouth, Carver, Hingham, Bridgewater, Canton, Hingham, Spencer, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Rochester and Mendon. 

Some trees crashed through houses and cars. And some drivers got trapped when they tried to drive through flooded roads.

The high winds also caused a temporary ground stop at Logan Airport in Boston, Massport told WBZ-TV.

Gusts throughout much of the state reached between 40 mph to 60 mph. At Blue Hill Observatory, meteorologists reported a hurricane-force wind gust of 90 mph, setting a new record for the date.

In New Hampshire, there were about 50,000 customers without power and Gov. Chris Sununu urged drivers to avoid flooded roadways.