CHATHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A powerful nor’easter barreled up the U.S. Northeast coast into New England Tuesday as officials warned of intense flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts, and widespread power outages.
The early nor’easter arrives before many trees have shed their leaves for the winter, raising the risk for power outages as branches weighed down by wet leaves come in contact with transmission lines.
RELATED: Track the storm on interactive radar
As of 11:30 p.m., nearly 20,000 homes and businesses across the state were without power. More than 3,200 of those outages have been reported in Gloucester but the wake of the storm is being felt all the way down the coastline, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
In Lynn, 3,800 outages were reported.
As the weather began to deteriorate, trees began falling in many communities like Chatham where intense winds blew the tree onto some powerlines on Fox Hill Road shortly after 8 p.m. The road was temporarily closed to travelers while crews worked to clear the area and restore power.
About 200 Eversource customers were plunged into darkness and officials said, even more could expect to lose power in that area as well.
RELATED: Flooding, power outages expected as powerful nor’easter barrels into Massachusetts
In Hingham, 67 percent of the community was without power come 10 p.m. ask peak wind gusts rattled through the region.
The worst of it was expected to hit late Tuesday through Wednesday morning, lashing the region with high winds and heavy rain.
Visit the 7Weather page for the latest forecast updates.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)