The state’s first blizzard in four years dumped at least a foot of snow in most places in Massachusetts, with many communities seeing nearly two feet, causing widespread power outages that affected more than 250,000 residents as of 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The snow also prompted Governor Healey to announce a travel ban in Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable Counties. As of noon Tuesday, those bans were lifted.
“This is a serious storm, and there are dangerous road conditions out there, especially on the South Coast,” Healey said during an update on the snowstorm Monday afternoon, a day after she declared a State of Emergency.
The bans will last until Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver determines that conditions are safe.
Strong winds and heavy snow from the Nor’easter created blizzard conditions that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in communities along the south coast and Cape Cod.
The town of Yarmouth was among the hardest hit. Jeff Colby, director of the Department of Public Works, said that downed power lines are creating a hazardous situation on the roads and for homeowners.
“There are 110 wires and trees down, and that’s blocking a lot of the roads that need to be cleared,” Colby said.
At least half the town of Yarmouth is without power, he said. In many cases, he said, “the wires are wrapped into the trees that have come down and that’s something [the] DPW crews can’t handle.”
Town officials and the police department have opened a warming shelter at the Dennis-Yarmouth High School for anyone whose homes are without power and heat.
He said the town was prepared for the storm, but it’s difficult for many towns to hire enough crews to help clear the snow.
“One of the big stories we’ve been hearing — and it’s the case for every town — is we don’t have enough contractors. We don’t have enough plow operators,” Colby said.
Doug Foley, president of electric operations for Eversource of Massachusetts, said the number of people experiencing power outages reached nearly 300,000 by late Monday.
He said the utility is in restoration mode, and brought in crews last night. With the weather challenges, he says he knew to call in the calvary.
“They’re out in the field patrolling the circuits, and when it’s safe to do so, they’re making repairs and getting the lights back on. But the weather’s been very, very difficult. It’s been very challenging for our crews,” Foley said.
The last blizzard to hit the state was in January 2022. Foley said after every big storm, the company conducts drills to refine its emergency response plan.
“We have opened five storm centers in Massachusetts. One on the Cape, one in New Bedford that also serves the Plymouth area, Boston, Southboro, and Springfield,” he said. “Last night, we opened up those emergency centers with our engineers and our dispatches prior to the storm’s arrival.”
Eversource has been able to restore power to more than 100,000 customers using a remote switching technology. He said line crews and tree contractors are working to repair and restore service as quickly as possible.
But Foley said the remaining problems will take a while to fix.
“This is going to be a multi-day event. Some customers, many customers will be picked up tomorrow. Not everybody is going to be out to the last day. We focus on our backbone circuits, get as many customers going, critical infrastructure, and community priorities. That will be the focus. And then we’ll get in the neighborhoods and do the smaller pockets of customers.”
Eversource is the largest utility company in the northeast, serving more than 4 million electric, gas and water customers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Eversource has mutual aid with the two other major utilities in the state, National Grid and Unitil.
Foley said Eversource coordinates planning with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA.
MEMA is also predicting it may take several days for power to be fully restored across the state. Gov. Healey says dangerous conditions are delaying that power restoration work.
“When does the wind die down enough so that it’s safe for people to get out in bucket trucks? That’s one thing that needs to happen,” said Healey. “And then the other thing is that the roads need to be clear so that these utility companies and crews can get into these areas.”
Meanwhile, those facing extended power outages are encouraged to head to their local warming center or shelter.
Healey says impacted residents should call 2-1-1 for guidance on the nearest warming shelter.
