Storm cuts power to thousands, closes roads

By JAMES PENTLAND

Staff Writer

Published: 03-14-2023 4:59 PM

NORTHAMPTON — Heavy wet snow that began Monday evening took a toll Tuesday morning, with falling trees and limbs cutting power to thousands and closing roads across the region.

As of 11 a.m., more than 71,000 people were without power in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The total remained above 70,000 throughout the afternoon.

More than 25,000 Eversource customers and 31,000 served by National Grid had lost power. MEMA’s outage map showed that few communities were spared, but the hilltowns were hardest hit, with 100%, or 691 customers, affected in Goshen, 96% in Conway (933 customers), 93% in Middlefield (300 customers), 88% in Westhampton (808 customers), 86% in Plainfield (366 customers), 82% in Chesterfield, (593 customers), and 77% in Shutesbury (712 customers).

Approximately half of electric customers had no power in Cummington and Huntington, and at least one-third were affected in Southampton.

Amherst, Easthampton, Southampton and Northampton all had approximately 1,000 customers without power for several hours.

By mid-afternoon, progress had been made in some areas, though most of Westhampton, Chesterfield, Conway, Ashfield and Shutesbury still had no power. By 5 p.m., power had been restored to most of Chesterfield.

National Grid spokesman John Lamontagne said 1,500 of the utility’s customers had no power as of 12:30.

The storm was expected to persist until Wednesday morning. Many areas had already received more than 12 inches of snow. Asked how much had fallen in her town, Cummington Select Board member June Lynds estimated 2 feet.

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Just to the west, AccuWeather reported 28 inches had fallen in Windsor.

Travel was hazardous and road closures were common. Northampton police reported widespread road blockages, including a downed tree that closed Route 66 in the vicinity of Florence Road.

Eversource spokeswoman Priscilla Ress noted in an email that treacherous road conditions slowed crews’ progress in making repairs.

The Berkshires and communities at higher elevations got the heaviest snow and were the first communities to lose power, she said. Downed trees and blocked roads hindered crews’ access to damaged electrical equipment.

“Trees are the number one cause of power outages and we’ve got heavy, wet snow continuing to pile up on trees, breaking limbs and branches and in some cases bringing down dozens of trees at a time on power lines and equipment,” Ress said.

She added that the wind was expected to pick up Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, extending the threat to trees already snow-laden and weakened and further delaying repairs.

National Grid, which services Goshen, Williamsburg, Northampton and parts of Shutesbury, had fewer than 400 Hampshire County customers without power by 4 p.m.

The utility reported that it had 3,000 field personnel responding to the power problems, bringing in crews from Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Ress encouraged Eversource customers to download the Eversource app where they can report outages and follow crews’ progress.

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