Weather

Isaias Knocks Out Power for Hundreds of Thousands Across New England

There were reports of downed trees across the area, while the Mayflower II sailing ship took shelter from the storm in New Bedford, Massachusetts

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The tropical storm ripped through much of the region Tuesday, taking down trees and wires.

There were widespread power outages in New England, including hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as high winds from Tropical Storm Isaias wreaked havoc across the area.

The center of the storm, formerly a hurricane, has kept to the west of new England, but the system still sparked tornado warnings in much of the area Tuesday morning and afternoon.

Tropical Storm Isaias sent high winds and occasionally intense rain blowing across Massachusetts Tuesday, damaging homes and vehicles.

More than 215,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts Tuesday night and nearly 600,000 lost power in Connecticut. There were about 127,000 outages in Rhode Island, 83,000 outages in New Hampshire and nearly 18,000 in Vermont.

As of Wednesday morning, over 150,000 people remained without power.

Trees were knocked over across the area, crushing vehicles, damaging homes, blocking streets and even halting trolley service on the MBTA Green Line.

A Rehoboth man was trapped under a large tree that fell in the extremely strong winds.

"He said he couldn't run fast enough to get out from underneath it," said neighbor Ralph Potter. "And it got him, the edges of the branches got him, knocked him down."

Family members of the victim say he has lots of abrasions and injuries to his shoulders.

He was rescued by firefighters, who removed the tree.

"Him and his wife heard something crack and he went out to check and looking around, the thing came down on him," said Potter, who ran to the scene after getting a frantic call from the man's wife.

NBC10 Boston/NECN
As the storm made its way into New England, several trees were spotted downed on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut by Tuesday afternoon.
The downed trees caused a nearly 45 minute traffic backup.
More downed trees were spotted between Westport and Fairfield on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut.
@SpencerFire1
In Spencer, Massachusetts, the storm brought down trees and wires in the areas of Wilson Street and Paxton Road.
@AuburnMAPolice
In Auburn, Massachusetts, police urged motorists to avoid Millbury Street from the Auburn/Millbury line to Montclair Drive due to a downed tree blocking the roadway.
Upton Police Department
The storm brought a tree down on a house in Upton, Massachusetts, police said. There were no injuries or damage to the inside of the home.
Upton Police Department
Also in Upton, police said East Street was closed at Pond Street due to a downed utility pole across the roadway.
Rehoboth Fire Department
In Rehoboth, Massachusetts, fire officials said they responded to a home after a man was struck by a falling tree in his yard.
Rehoboth Fire Department
The Rehoboth Fire Department had to help the man after he became trapped underneath the tree. It was unclear on the man's condition.
Easton Fire Department
The storm also brought down a tree and wires onto a home in Easton, Massachusetts, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.
@ilamont
Closer to Boston, passengers on the MBTA had to deal with delays when a downed tree blocked the Green Line at Newton Highlands.
Concord Police Department
A tree feel on a home in Concord, Massachusetts.
NBC10 Boston
A large tree crashed onto a pickup truck on Mulberry Street in Leicester, Massachusetts, as Tropical Storm Isaias brought strong winds to the area.
A fallen tree on Avalon Road in Reading, Massachusetts.
Mark Garfinkel/NBC10 Boston
After a heavy line of rain and wind crossed the Boston area, a rainbow formed, over Boston Light.

A massive tree came down Tuesday evening on the Oxford home of Roger and Myrtle Bacon, decimating their porch and ruining their slate roof.

"I was sitting at the kitchen table, and we have a beautiful porch, and I'm watching the news, and all of a sudden, there was this noise, and down came the tree and took the whole porch," said Roger Bacon.

Massachusetts' state-run waterfronts and pools closed at 3 p.m. in preparation for the storm, and state-run parks in western and central Massachusetts closed then as well, according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The Mayflower II, the full-size replica of the Pilgrims' ship the Mayflower, took shelter from the storm in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where it was tied up at a pier Tuesday.

Officials in New Bedford had closed their beaches due to the forecast of strong winds and possible rip tides. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said the high surf also factored into the decision.

"We do have beaches out on the peninsula, so we've made the decision, the mayor's made the decision, to close the beaches so we don't have any issues with somebody going out there and getting hurt," said Brian Nobrega, New Bedford's emergency management director.

High tide on Tuesday night was only expected to cause minor coastal flooding.

The Multi-Agency Coordination Center was providing sandbags to Provincetown, and remained on standby for all resource requests from other communities.

Tuesday: Inland showers and downpours develop, expanding east late. Wind gusts approaching 70 mph. Highs in the 80s.

Utility crews were busy preparing for issues. National Grid said it had brought in more than 300 outside crews to help service southern New England. Eversource pre-staged crews on Martha's Vineyard, and contacted customers with special medical needs.

To report an outage:

Massachusetts:
Columbia 1-800-525-8222

Connecticut:
Eversource - 800-286-2000 *All regions
National Grid - 1-800-465-1212 *For all regions
UI (along the coast) 1.800.722.5584

Rhode Island:
Pascoag 401-568-6222.
Block Island - 401-466-5851

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