Cape Cod, Nantucket clock state's highest wind gusts in storm. Thousands without power.

Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times
·4 min read

HYANNIS — Gusty wind and heavy rain took their toll across Cape Cod Monday morning and into the afternoon, causing scattered power outages from Woods Hole to Provincetown and affecting more than 11,000 overall Eversource customers, according to the company's outage map.

Most of the power outages struck from just past 10 a.m. through to about 2 p.m., with the highest concentrations in Mashpee, Barnstable, Truro and Provincetown.

The National Weather Service's Boston-Norton office clocked some of the state's highest wind gusts on Cape Cod at 62 mph in the morning — the highest gusts blew over Nantucket, at about 66 mph. Winds were sustained around 30-40 mph in the afternoon, with gusts around 58 mph. A wind advisory remained in effect for Cape Cod as of 3:30 p.m. but was forecast to slow to 17 mph by midnight.

Eversource on Monday afternoon reported that hundreds of Eversource line and tree crews were deployed all around Massachusetts. The company estimated tens of thousands of power outages, mostly as a result of downed trees and tree limbs.

Crews responded to this downed utility pole at the intersection near West Bay Road and Main Street in Osterville. A tree fell on the utility wires Monday during heavy winds and rain.
Crews responded to this downed utility pole at the intersection near West Bay Road and Main Street in Osterville. A tree fell on the utility wires Monday during heavy winds and rain.

Additional contract crews were expected to join the efforts, with around-the-clock shifts to handle emergency situations, clear blocked roads, assess damage and restore power.

“We know the timing of this storm is terrible as people are trying to enjoy time off or prepare for the Christmas holiday,” said Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom in a statement issued about 2:50 p.m. “The fierce winds and heavy rains brought down trees and limbs that caused significant damage to the electric system and widespread power outages in most of Eastern Massachusetts, as well as communities in Western Massachusetts."

As with other areas of Massachusetts, the vast majority of damage to the electric system on the Cape was caused by trees and tree limbs coming down onto the electric system, according to Eversource spokesman William Hinkle, noting last week's rainfall exacerbated the situation.

The late afternoon high tide washes over the Hyannis Port Yacht Club pier and floods Eugenia Fortes Beach.
The late afternoon high tide washes over the Hyannis Port Yacht Club pier and floods Eugenia Fortes Beach.

"Following last week’s weather, the ground was very saturated and tree branches weakened, making trees and limbs more susceptible to coming down with today’s heavy rain and strong winds," he said in an email late Monday afternoon. "Those strong winds have also posed a challenge for our crews working to restore power on the Cape, as they have to sometimes wait for winds to subside before they can go up in the bucket trucks and make necessary repairs."

Notably, he said, the Outer Cape Battery Energy Storage System was deployed to provide backup power to about 5,600 customers in Provincetown on Monday.

"We’re bringing in additional crews to support the restoration effort in our hardest-hit communities, including on the Cape, and we’ll be working around the clock until power is restored for every customer," Hinkle said.

Across much of the Cape, outages mostly affected small clusters of customers ranging from fewer than four in an area to a few dozen. Among the most concentrated outages on Cape were the following:

  • 1,915 outages in the Osterville area, occurring between 12:40 and 1:30 p.m.

  • 1,771 outages in the Williams Path and High Street area of West Barnstable, starting around 10:06 a.m.

  • 1,226 outages in West Hyannis, starting around 1:30 p.m.

  • 1,214 outages in the Santuit and Poponessett Road area of Mashpee, starting around 12:13 p.m.

  • 611 outages in North Truro, starting around 1:42 p.m.

  • 257 outages in the Weatherby Avenue area of Wellfleet, starting around 10:08 a.m.

Hallstrom said with outages so widespread, it may take some time to address all of them, especially as the system continues to take on damage and outages even after the storm passes because of the weakened state of trees and the saturated ground.

Eversource reminds customers to stay clear of downed wires, keep pets away, and report them immediately by calling 911. In addition, customers should be cautious when doing their own storm clean-up. People are advised to look for any wires that may be entangled in debris when moving or cutting tree limbs.

Residents who are without power and using a generator are reminded to be sure the generator is located well away from their home or business and that the transfer switch is working properly.

Customers can report outages online at www.eversource.com/cg/customer/reportoutage, or by calling 800-592-2000. Customers who signed up for the company’s two-way texting feature at www.eversource.com/content/residential/outages/outage-alerts can send a text to report an outage and receive outage updates as they happen.

Heather McCarron can be reached at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: December rainstorm: Thousands lose power on Cape Cod