COHASSET, MASS. (WHDH) – Several boats in the water off the South Shore were torn from their docks and thrown ashore Wednesday as the fall nor’easter lashed the coast with hurricane-force winds.
Photos shared by the Cohasset Police Department showed a sailboat resting precariously on a rock and three others that were blown up onto a grassy area along the harbor.
Wind gusts in the area topped 70 mph, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
“It’s kind of like swimming against the tides. The winds were really powerful,” said Lieutenant Michael Lopes. “We’ve had a lot of downed trees, downed power lines, and some poles as well and they’ve made a lot of the streets impassable.”
The press box at Alumni Field was also blown off the stands and into the parking lot. It has been deemed a total loss.
Trees all over the South Shore were uprooted, including a gigantic tree on Cohasset Common that blocked Highland Avenue.
School in Cohasset will be closed Thursday due to the extensive storm damage, according to police.
Boats off the coast of Plymouth also broke free from their docks after being thrashed by huge waves, video shared by the town’s harbormaster showed.
In Scituate, streets started to flood hours before high tide as waves came crashing in, prompting many residents to evacuate the area.
“We’re looking at multiple days without power. Multiple roads closed around town. Wires down. It’s just a mess right now,” Scituate Town Administrator Jim Boudreau warned.
Gusts were stronger than that town has seen in years — topping out at 87 miles per hour in some spots.
“The wind was ridiculous. It was like being in a lot of turbulence on a plane for a long time,” said Scituate Lighthouse keeper Bob Gallagher.
The tricky mess extended into nearby Norwell where part of Route 123 was shut down Wednesday afternoon due to a snapped utility pole that left wires hanging in the roadway.
In Quincy, a sailboat came loose from its mooring and started smashing up against the seawall that lines Quincy Shore Drive. As high tide approached, the waves continued to batter the boat.
It’s not clear when power will be restored to communities in the area.
Though all the damage, and subsequent cleanup, is not stopping people from stopping by Scituate’s sea wall to take a peek at Mother Nature’s fury.
“I’ve lived down here for 13 years at the lighthouse where you get knocked around with every storm,” Gallagher said. “It’s not for everybody. But it might be my vice.”
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