Power outages have left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.
The storm that brought downpours and strong winds to the Boston area and across New England knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people region-wide Friday.
And as workers scrambled to restore downed power lines, temperatures were plummeting, complicating the recovery effort along with lingering high winds days before Christmas.
"Really the biggest challenge we faced is the wind," said Bill Malee, National Grid's vice president of emergency planning. "They would die down and gust again, which made it challenging for our crews to have a sustained restoration."
Power outages were widespread across New England -- and sustained.
Friday evening: Another round of 45+ mph wind gusts, temperatures crashing to the 20s around 8pm onward. Chance for some snow. Overnight: Early snow showers, icy spots, frigid wind gusting to 40 mph with a subzero wind chill. Actual lows in the teens by dawn.
Saturday: Very cold wind under fair sky, Cape/Island snow showers. Highs in the 20s, wind chill 10s. Sunday: Continued cold with a biting breeze, sunny. Highs in the 20s, wind chill 10s.
There were just over 40,000 customers without power across the Bay State as of 11:30 p.m., according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, down from nearly 70,000 around 8:45 p.m. -- about as high as the number had gotten throughout the day. It had peaked in the morning before dropping off, but the return of high wind gusts in the evening brought a new round of outages.
National Grid said the Merrimack Valley was the utility's hardest-hit area of Massachusetts, though being in the dark didn't phase Cynthia Blandini, of North Andover.
"Oh, we'll snuggle," she said of herself and her husband. "How’s that for an 80- and a 78-year-old? ... We’ll manage tonight."
In the Merrimack Valley Friday evening, thousands of people were without power after the storm knocked out trees and utility poles, and took out power lines. National Grid says this was their hardest hit area.
Our crews remain hard at work to restore service to affected customers in Massachusetts. We’re making progress as the storm continues to whip strong winds through the region. pic.twitter.com/JAveEfoBfo
As strong winds continue to bring trees & branches onto our power lines, please stay away from downed wires & report them to 911. We've restored more than 52,000 of our customers since the storm started, and crews will continue working around the clock until everyone has power. pic.twitter.com/3wh8xRKUud
In New Hampshire, just under 100,000 customers were in the dark before midnight. Firefighters in Candia urged residents to hunker down at night, writing on Facebook, "Not pretty out there tonight. If you can stay home, we’d suggest it. Multiple trees down throughout town."
And in Vermont, around 40,000 customers were without power about 11:40 p.m.
More than 264,000 Central Maine Power customers had lost power as of 11:45 p.m. and the number had been climbing for hours Friday night.
A great reminder from our friends at @NWSGray on generator safety tonight as temperatures start to drop. Also make sure your pipes don't freeze by letting water drip and opening sink cabinets to let the air circulate. FMI: https://t.co/UwbS8rVOuz. https://t.co/SgFhiw5loh
The high tide and high winds brought ocean water pouring into the port city, where the airport went dark amid widespread power outages.
Homes across the region were affected, but the problems had knock-on affects for travelers at the Portland International Jetport in Maine, which lost power for about an hour and requiring at least two flights to be diverted.
POWER OUTAGE: We are experiencing an airport wide power outage. We are currently not able to process flights in the terminal. We expect an update at 12:15pm
— Dustin Wlodkowski NBC10 Boston (@DUSTINnbcboston) December 23, 2022
NBC10 Boston
Massachusetts state officials work to clear water off a Storrow Drive on-ramp in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston/Stringer
A car and a falling tree collided in Wakefield, Massachusetts, early Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Handout
An unoccupied pickup truck in Salisbury, Massachusetts, was crushed by a shipping container amid high winds and downpours overnight, police said Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. They warned about dangerous driving conditions.
NBC10 Boston
A house in North Andover, Massachusetts, where a tree fell amid high winds on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Norton Police Department
In Norton, Massachusetts, winds knocked down the gazebo in the town square as well as trees onto roads amid a powerful storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston
A woman takes a picture of a wave crashing ashore on Winthrop, Massachusetts, amid a storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
NBC10 Boston
Waves crash ashore in Winthrop, Massachusetts, amid heavy flooding up and down the New England coast caused by an intense storm on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
WJAR-TV
Waves crash ashore at Narragansett, Rhode Island, amid a storm that was causing coastal flooding in New England on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Town of Barnstable
Flooding in Barnstable, Massachusetts, as a storm sent water surging across New England’s coast on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Several roads in Salisbury were washed out during Friday's storm.
This sea foam in Wells, Maine, was one of the wildest images to come out of Friday's storm.
Rain water washed out a portion of Nutes Road in Milton, New Hampshire.
Swasey Parkway in Exeter, New Hampshire, was completely underwater on Friday.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Water floods a street during high tide, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. More than 200 million people — about 60% of the U.S. population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning on Friday.
Norton, MA Police
@NEREVSKIPETE
Flooding Friday in Woods Hole, a neighborhood in Falmouth, MA.
Flooded roads in Provincetown.
Flooding in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Market Basket in North Andover, Mass., lost power Friday as shoppers ran out to grab last-minute Christmas groceries.
The overnight rain was too much for the North River in Salem, Mass., it spilled over onto Commercial Street, stranding at least four cars.
Vittorio George left an appointment at the courthouse in Salem and found his Cadillac SUV partially under water.
The wind was relentless in Portland, Maine, causing coastal flooding.
In the Merrimack Valley Friday evening, thousands of people were without power after the storm knocked out trees and utility poles, and took out power lines. National Grid says this was their hardest hit area.
Owen Thomas told NBC10 Boston’s John Moroney that he’s always wanted to kayak on Morrissey Boulevard. Thanks to Friday’s flooding, he was finally able to achieve his dream.
Cities and towns regionwide were dealing with trees falling.
"When we think about all the physical repairs that our crews need to do up in the bucket trucks, we really need the winds to start dying down for them to safely get out there and do their job," said Eversource spokesperson Chris McKinnon told NBC 10 Boston Friday morning.
Tens of millions of Americans endured bone-chilling temperatures, blizzard conditions, power outages and canceled holiday gatherings Friday from a winter storm that forecasters said was nearly unprecedented in its scope, exposing about 60% of the U.S. population to some sort of winter weather advisory or warning.
The worst of the storm in terms of wind and rain was expected Friday morning. While that will phase out by Friday afternoon, cold air will flood into New England, which could cause roads to freeze over.
"The flash freeze is the biggest concern for drivers on the road," said McKinnon. "A lot of outages are caused by crashes into utility poles."
