An October nor’easter caused widespread damage across Massachusetts, knocking out power to about 500,000 customers, blowing the roof off an apartment building and even picking up a small plane and dropping it in the middle of a local street.
An intense nor'easter with hurricane force winds destroyed cars, tore down trees and took down power lines across Massachusetts Wednesday morning.
Hundreds of thousands of people woke up without power in Massachusetts Wednesday as outages increased dramatically. The number of people who lost power tripled in a matter of less than two hours - jumping from 135,229 at 4 a.m. to 407,535 by 6:30 a.m.
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Wind gusts exceeded hurricane force at the height of the storm -- reaching nearly 100 mph. The wind is forecast to die down as the day progresses, but damage was expected to continue until late morning.
Winthrop
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Strong gusts took down trees across the state, including two on River Road in Winthrop.
An official with the Department of Conservation and Recreation could be seen clearing the storm drain with a shovel at the corner of Revere Street and Winthrop Parkway in Winthrop.
Downed street signs could be seen on Winthrop Parkway as well.
The storm caused rough surf along the coast.
The strong winds also sandblasted this parked car along Winthrop Shore Drive.
Quincy
In Quincy, a roof was blown right off the O'Brien Towers building, which provides housing for the elderly and disabled. Some residents might have to be displaced.
Cohasset
Everyone in Cohasset without a generator woke up in the dark. A power pole snapped on North Main Street, which was blocked off by police. Several boats were aground in Cohasset Harbor.
A press box was blown off the stands at Alumni Field in Cohasset as well. The structure was "a total loss," police said.
Hingham
A boat broke off a mooring and washed up on the rocks in Hingham Tuesday night.
Barnstable
A woman was trapped in her car after a tree came down on top of it as she was driving on Route 6A in West Barnstable. The car wound up on top of a live power line. Police were able to rescue her from the car safely.
New Bedford
There was minor damage to the wings of an aircraft at the New Bedford Regional Airport during the nor'easter.
Duxbury
Police officers and firefighters in Duxbury were handling a "very high volume," of emergency calls after about 91% of the town lost power.
Numerous trees and wires were down, police said, as wind gusts reached 65 mph near the Powder Point Bridge. The town's Department of Public Works and utility crews were out working to clear the roads.
"Use extreme caution if you need to be on the roads for any reason, the Duxbury Fire Department wrote on Twitter. "Many roads are impassable due to trees down."
Boston's South End
MBTA damage
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said the storm caused significant damage across the commuter rail system. Crews are working to resolve issues but delays are continuing due to equipment damage, signal issues and downed trees.
