Power outages top 20K after nor’easter batters southeastern Mass. with strong wind, wet snow

SANDWICH, Mass. — The number of power outages is climbing Tuesday as a nor’easter batters southeastern Massachusetts with whipping winds and snow.

As of 5:30 p.m., there were more than 22,000 homes and businesses in the Bay State without power, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outages tracker.

Officials on Cape Cod are worried that freezing temperatures could lead to more power outages through the overnight hours.

The highest percentage of power outages was in Sandwich and Barnstable. The tracker showed more than 1,624 customers were without power across Barnstable County as of 5 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for the Cape and the Islands until 9 p.m. Tuesday, with gusts up to 60 mph possible in those areas.

Concerns did not subside as wind gusts lost momentum through the evening hours.

“We do have some concerns about the cold temperatures on the back side especially as this wet sticky snow freezes overnight with temperatures in the 20s,” said Chip Reilly, Emergency Preparedness Director for Barnstable County.

Reilly told Boston 25 News that there are no current plans to open shelters on Cape Cod for those in the dark.

“Our shelters are all in schools, and we know the school districts are eager to get school open tomorrow,” he explained. “We’re doing the balance of is there a major public safety need, and how fast can Eversource get the restoration process underway.

Reilly added that the threat of minor to moderate coastal flooding will continue through Wednesday morning’s high tide

The storm is expected to move out of the region by 7 p.m.

Stay with the Boston 25 Weather Team for updates.

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