Days after the first snowfall of the season, another storm slammed Massachusetts and the rest of New England with torrential rain and strong winds, causing flooding and power outages.
An emergency was declared in the area of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, because of extremely high seas and flooding, local police said on social media, where images showed entire streets flooded.
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Ocean Boulevard was temporarily shut down, police said, and people were asked to avoid that area.
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Residents were urged to temporarily leave the area for "higher ground." An evacuation shelter was opened at the Hampton Academy gymnasium, police said.
NBC10 Boston meteorologist Matt Noyes reported that Hampton went well above the tidal forecast, as we approach high tide and is recording a level of 13.67 feet.
In Massachusetts, Interstate 93 north at Exit 13B in Boston was closed on Morrisey Boulevard due to flooding, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said.
Over at the Chelsea-Everett line, flooding is a common site during these weather events.
"This happens all the time on this street," said Chelsea resident Rania Labeche.
This time, three stranded cars partially submerged in knee-deep waters on Vale Street.
The warnings for everyone thinking of crossing flooded roads.
"Literally, it's always this street right there. Cars always get stuck, so we always try to tell people to stay away from there," said Labeche.
Rushing rivers, brooks and streams swelled overnight into Wednesday morning in Leominster.
The community was still on edge from the catastrophic flooding in September that compromised dams, buckled a main road and flooded neighborhoods.
Elmer Pena said even though the sun's out now, he fears similar flooding to the weather that destroyed his next door neighbor's property this past fall.
"I didn't even go to work, I want to stay around just to make sure things are OK, my family is fine," said Pena.
Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said thanks in part to public works crews and the community clearing catch basins and shoveling out around problem areas, it looked like they avoided another natural disaster.
However, with Wednesday's unseasonably warm weather, they will be monitoring the melting as the 17 inches of snow that fell over the weekend continues to turn into additional runoff.
"It does take time to come off the hills, to get to the brooks to get to the rivers, so it does take some time, so we'll watch it for the next 24 hours and see what happens, but I think the worst looks like it's over," said Mazzarella.
Meanwhile in Malden, drivers were slamming on the brakes as they braced for water impact.
In Norwood, a photo showed a car swept away from flood waters on Upland Road on Route 1A.
Firefighters responded to the area at about 5:30 a.m. to rescue the driver, who was hanging onto a tree, according to authorities.
The driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. As of 8 a.m., the road remained closed.
Flooding also shut down Route 1A in Salisbury, according to MassDOT.
The road was closed in both directions because of the incoming high tide, MassDOT said. Drivers were asked to seek an alternative route in the area.
Pockets of flooded areas were seen in Saugus early Wednesday morning — all along Route 1, which forced drivers to hit the brakes. Some even hydroplaned and hit side rails.
A driver told NBC10 Boston it felt like he was floating on water. His car was damaged by the impact and water that got into his car's motor.
"I was driving [and] the car like floated on top and the car slid and spun," said Carlos Peroni. " I hit the guardrail. It was very difficult, I couldn't see the water."
What was a relatively quiet start to the winter quickly ramped up at the start of the year, putting a constant strain on power crews across the region.
"We're in this pattern where every few days, we're having events. But you know, we watch these closely, we have a very good plan, our work is here at Eversource and we'll serve our customers," said Craig Hallstrom, the president of electric operations for Eversource.
Several thousand customers in Massachusetts lost power as a result of the storm, but electricity had been restored for most by Wednesday afternoon. Both Eversource and National Grid said they will keep hundreds of deployed crews from across the country in place in anticipation of more storms on the horizon.
There were dozens of reports of trees and power lines down across Massachusetts, especially in coastal areas. In some cases, tree limbs and power lines were down across roadways. Reports of flooding were also being seen in New Bedford, Dartmouth, Peabody, Scituate, Northampton, Everett, Gardner and more.
The MBTA Commuter Rail was impacted as well on Wednesday.
On the Providence, Rhode Island, line, flooding affected the tracks, so trains couldn't move there. Buses were in place to shuttle some of those commuters. Regular service will resume when flooding recedes, wrote the agency on social media.
Shuttle buses replaced Red Line trains between Quincy Center and Braintree also because of flooding.
The Orange Line tracks near Roxbury Crossing were flooded, according to the MBTA, who said trains will stand by at stations.
Flooding, other issues reported across New England
A dam breach in Bozrah, Connecticut, prompted mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday for several areas along the Yantic River, Norwich officials said. A power company shut down a substation along the river leaving about 5,000 homes and businesses without power.
In Rhode Island, state police shut down Route 146 north and south after vehicles were left trapped because of the flooding, according to NBC affiliate WJAR. Route 146 reopened at exit 5 later Wednesday morning, but the Breakneck Hill Road ramp south remained closed.
Drivers were told to expect delays.
The storm canceled events and government functions in Maine, where some areas were still recovering from a snowstorm over the weekend and flooding the previous month.
Winds gusted to 95 mph at Maine’s Isle au Haut, an island in Penobscot Bay, said Jon Palmer from the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. At the state's largest airport, high winds pushed an empty passenger aircraft into a jet bridge Portland Jetport officials said Wednesday. No one was hurt.
At parking lot near Widgery Wharf on the Portland's waterfront, lobster fishermen attempted to turn back some of the flooding using pumps.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills encouraged residents to stay off the roads amid flash flood warnings.
“Please be sure to give plow trucks, utility crews, and emergency first responders plenty of space as they work to keep us safe,” she said.
In Vermont, the storm brought wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour and heaving wet snow, followed by rain, leaving nearly 30,000 homes without power Wednesday morning. Many schools were closed or had delayed openings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
