LYNNFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - Already dealing with heavy rain and high winds, homeowners, drivers and emergency crews across southern New England also dealt with downed trees and wires throughout Monday as sustained winds of 40 mph and even stronger gusts blew through the region.
Up and down the state, downed trees as well as utility poles closed lanes and took hours to clear during the morning commute. Among the most extensive closures was Route 110 in Haverhill, where the MassDOT announced traffic was blocked in both directions due to multiple trees coming down around 8 a.m.
Other spots included Foxborough, where two lanes were closed on I-95 southbound for a time, while a pole with wires came down and briefly closed Route 146 north in Millbury.
The strongest winds of the day were expected to come through the area between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with sustained wind speeds of 40 mph hitting the state and gusts reaching 60-70 mph along the Cape and Plymouth County, and 50-60 mph in the Boston area.
In addition to knocking out power for at least 140,000 customers at one point Monday, the storm also brought extensive property damage for some homeowners as well, with one household in Lynnfield losing three vehicles and a chunk of their home when a tree crashed into it Monday morning on Thwing Road.
“This tree came down about 7 a.m. this morning – shook the house,” homeowner Tim Walsh told 7NEWS, standing in front of a scene that included two smashed-in cars and a pickup truck that buckled under the fallen tree. “My son was actually asleep in the bedroom. [I] went in, opened the door – it was just smoke everywhere, dust.”
“I’m just in bed sleeping and I just hear this awful, terribly loud noise and I look up and I’m terrified – there’s a massive hole in the side of my room,” Walsh’s son Tyler told reporters.
Family members and a contractor could be seen surveying the damage through an opening in the house, with large tree limbs scattered across the scene.
A similar scene played out in Danvers, where a downed tree managed to damage two homes on Summer Street.
“It’s a perfect scenario of the wind gusting a certain way, the tree had decay in it. The branches – they’re a lot stronger than people think, so, it’s basically a knife that’s coming down or a sword or whatever – a solid object,” explained Keith Natti with Cicoria Tree and Crane Service as his team worked at the scene. “You’ve got the wind, you’ve got a lot of rain, so, in this situation, it’s not the roots, it’s just the pines – pines are notorious for coming down in high winds.”
Other trouble spots included Wellesley, where emergency crews worked across town to clear roads and wires, including at a house on Suffolk Road that suffered from a tree toppling down and into a garage. No details on any injuries have been released.
More information on the storm’s impact, including flight cancellations at Logan Airport, can be found here.
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