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More than 85,000 Massachusetts energy customers were still without power near 2 p.m. Tuesday after a wet and windy storm rocked New England on Monday.
Many schools were closed due to continued issues with power. Utility crews remained busy, in the meantime, still dealing with damage as they worked to make repairs.
At the storm’s peak, around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported more than 285,000 outages statewide, with South Shore communities among the hardest hit.
“Our crews have been working tirelessly to restore service as quickly and as safely as we can, and we’ve made a lot of progress – but there is a long way to go,” said National Grid Vice President for Electric Operations for New England Tim Moore, in a statement Tuesday.
“This storm caused a lot of damage largely across Eastern Massachusetts, and we have crews focused on the hardest hit locations,” he continued. “We recognize that this is a challenging time of year to lose power as everyone is preparing for the holidays, but we’ll continue to work until every last customer is restored.”
National Grid said it had increased staffing and shifts and secured additional crews, including from New York and Canada, that will work around the clock until service is restored to all customers.
Eversource also had crews out throughout the night to restore power.
Speaking Tuesday morning, Eversource President for Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom said crews brought roughly 100,000 customers back online overnight, leaving roughly 40,000 Eversource customers still without power. Most ongoing outages, he said, were clustered in the MetroWest and South Shore areas.
Hallstrom said crews were making progress amid calmer weather and said he was “really confident” that Eversource would get power restored for the majority of customers by Tuesday night.
“I know how just frustrating it is day-to-day to have an outage,” he said. “But, to have an outage this week, with the holidays coming up, people are preparing, people are maybe off, so it’s extra frustrating.”
Storm causes flooding, structural damage
Local wind gusts on Monday peaked at 90 miles-per-hour on Great Blue Hill in Milton. Elsewhere, Boston, Nantucket, Norwood and North Weymouth recorded gusts over 60 miles-per-hour.
The storm also dropped several inches of rain in many spots, with 4.8 inches measured in Ashfield, 3.84 measured in Stow and 3.31 measured in Norwood.
As the rain continued to fall, reports of damage poured in across the region.
A day later, Millis Police Chief Chris Soffayer showed 7NEWS the reason his town had been left largely without power, with downed trees disrupting travel around town.
“A 15, 20 minute ride turned into an hour, 1:20 for some folks,” he said.
Among those affected by the damage was the Karytko family, stranded in their home by trees that came down across their driveway. The trees took down power lines and crushed the family’s children’s playhouse.
“It’s terrible,” said Pete Karytko. “Can’t get in or out. Obviously, everyone’s got no power, no internet. We both work from home, so it’s making it pretty tough. But it’s not the worst thing.”
Pete said he and his wife were both working from home when the storm hit. When he looked outside, he said he saw trees swaying around the house.
He said he and his wife decided to go into the basement.
“Shortly after, that’s when eight trees all fell around us, basically,” he said.
Soffayer said 92% of Millis was without power Tuesday morning. The number fell sharply through the day, dipping to 18% as of around 4 p.m.
Fatalities reported in Hanover; Windham, Maine
While countless other communities contended with damage, authorities said an 89-year-old man was killed after high winds and heavy rain caused a tree to fall onto a trailer in Hanover Monday morning.
Hanover police and firefighters arrived and were able to extricate the man, who was described as having severe head trauma as a result of the downed tree.
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WATCH: Man in Hanover killed by falling tree
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The Plymouth County District Attorney’s office in a news release said the man was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man was later identified as Robert Horky, 89, of Hingham.”
Officials said an investigation into the incident was ongoing, with the DA’s office emphasizing that the area experienced heavy rain and high wind gusts before and during the incident.
In Windham, Maine, local authorities said another man died Monday after he was hit by a tree.
Wild weather snarls commutes
The Federal Aviation Administration at one point grounded all flights departing Logan Airport. Flights were still severely delayed as of Monday afternoon but were back to normal by Tuesday.
MBTA ferry service was disrupted on multiple routes, only resuming for some routes around 2 p.m. Monday. Though service resumed elsewhere, the MBTA on its website said there would be no service on the Hull ferry through the end of the day Tuesday while crews complete cleanup work at the Hull Dock.
The T didn’t share further information on damage near the dock. Video from the area, though, showed cars crushed by toppled poles. No injuries were reported.
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WATCH: Cars crushed by toppled poles near MBTA Hull ferry parking lot
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Flooding extends to New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island
Stormy conditions extended north and south of Massachusetts, bringing severe flooding to parts of New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.
In Newry, Maine, video showed large pieces of metal floating down the Sunday River.
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WATCH: Storm triggers flooding in New Hampshire, Maine
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More than five inches of rain in the area damaged roads and trails at the nearby Sunday River ski resort, prompting the resort to close on Tuesday. Sunday River in a statement said it was assessing damage and will work to reopen as soon as possible.
In New Hampshire, where several other ski resorts were closed Tuesday, additional video showed the Saco River near North Conway overflowing its banks.
In Gorham, New Hampshire, a yellow tanker truck was seen being swept down a swollen brook before getting stuck under a bridge and sending water splashing onto the road above. Police said crews were eventually able to free the truck, which was unoccupied at the time.
Elsewhere, in Jackson, more video showed river waters lapping at a stone bridge.
Energy provider Unitil Corporation in an update said roughly 1,550 customers in New Hampshire were without power as of 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, down from a peak of roughly 11,668 customers Monday.
While most customers still in the dark were expected to get power restored by the end of the day, Unitil warned restoration “may take longer for customers in isolated pockets that experienced extensive damage and those with individual service issues.”
“We understand this has been a very difficult time for our customers, especially with Christmas holiday only a week away,” said Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara. “Our crews have worked around the clock restoring power to tens of thousands of customers who lost power during Monday’s high winds and we have a fresh compliment of crews blanketing the Seacoast this morning who will continue to work until all outages are restored.”
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WATCH: Crews use boats to rescue people from apartment building in RI
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In Rhode Island, local communities dealt with their own deluge of water and resulting storm damage.
In Cranston, crews were seen using boats to rescue people stuck in an apartment building near Fordson Avenue Monday night.
In nearby East Providence, the wall of a gym partially collapsed, scattering debris across the parking lot. The owners of Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness said the gym will be closed until further notice.
Clear skies expected as some flood warnings linger
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Stormy weather largely moved out of southern New England early Monday afternoon. Clear skies and colder temperatures are now expected across the region through the rest of the week.
While New England is not forecast to receive significant additional rain in the coming days, flood warnings remained in effect around many rivers Tuesday morning as runoff continued to drain off local landscapes.
Among individual rivers, the Pawtuxet River in Rhode Island was in major flood stage. The Blackstone River was in moderate flood stage, while Charles, Sudbury, Assabet and Merrimack rivers in Massachusetts were in minor flood stage.
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