The Boston Globe
Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Wild, woolly, and gone
Nor’easter takes its toll on region,
but the timing tempers impact
By Michael Levenson and Noah Bierman

The storm that socked Massachusetts the day after Christmas knocked out power for tens of thousands, flooded towns along the South Shore, ignited scattered house fires, stranded travelers, and strained countless backs and knees with record-setting snows piled high by blowing winds.

But the timing of the mammoth nor’easter, at the end of a holiday weekend when schools are out and many people are on vacation, meant area residents were able to hunker down at home and stay off the roads. And ample warning from meteorologists gave crews plenty of time to treat roadways.

The storm did not cause any reported deaths in the state. Car crashes were minimal. It was, for many, an extended holiday, a chance to nibble on leftovers and let the children play with new toys, or romp outside with saucers and sleds.

By the time the storm rumbled out of Massachusetts and into northern New England yesterday afternoon, it had dumped 18.2 inches of snow in Boston, making it the city’s 10th largest snowfall since the National Weather Service began keeping official records in 1892.

After all data are in, the storm may qualify, officially, as a blizzard, by meeting two criteria: sustained wind gusts of 35 miles per hour and visibility of less than a quarter-mile for three consecutive hours, according to Nicole Belk, a weather service meteorologist in Taunton....

At its peak, during the early hours yesterday, 55,000 people lost power, mostly in Southeastern Massachusetts, as snow and high winds overtook power lines and downed utility poles.

Scituate was the hardest-hit community in Eastern Massachusetts. Several dozen residents were rescued from flood waters in pontoon boats, and two houses caught fire.

Scituate and other South Shore towns opened temporary shelters for 65 people whose homes had been flooded or lost power. But even in those areas, most toughed it out under blankets or found refuge with relatives.

Officials attributed the relatively low amount of overall property damage to the accurate forecasts, which allowed them to salt and plow roads before, during, and after the storm, and gave residents time to get out of the way. At the storm’s peak, the state deployed nearly 4,000 trucks and plows to salt and clear roads.

“We just dodged a bullet here, and we’re happy to say that,’’ said Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. She said there were about 100 spinouts across the state, but no serious injuries on the roads. A tractor-trailer on Interstate 495 in Westborough overturned Sunday night, spilling some fuel but causing no delays. A truck crashed on Route 9 in Newton, taking down two electrical poles.

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The Salem News
Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Withstanding the storm
Girls rescued from brook,
homes lose power in winter's first rough patch

No matter how many times we've seen it before, that first major snowfall of the season comes as a stunner. Cars skid, shovels sell out and kids underestimate winter's cruelty....

In Marblehead, the causeway was closed at high tide. Front Street "took a whopping," Marblehead police Sgt. Marion Keating said.

On Beacon Street around 3 a.m. Bill Kinney heard what "sounded like a gunshot." An enormous pine tree had splintered and fallen into the road, bringing down four utility poles and cutting power to eight homes. Kinney noted he'd never seen anything like it in more than 20 years on the street.

Staff writers Alan Burke, Bethany Bray, Chris Cassidy, Ethan Forman, Julie Manganis and Matthew K. Roy contributed to this report.

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The Lynn Daily Item
Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Blizzard brings Greater Lynn area to heel
By Jeff McMenemy and Chris Stevens

A major blizzard dumped close to 20 inches of snow on the region, closing city and town halls as officials enacted snow emergencies so crews could clear the streets.

Flood waters closed two roads in Swampscott for a few hours early Monday morning and there were reports of minor flooding in Revere.

There was also some scattered power outages in Swampscott thanks to a stinging and powerful wind, and reports of numerous minor accidents in the area....

In Swampscott, Public Works director Gino Cresta ordered two streets to be blocked off early Monday morning at high tide between 3 a.m.-5 a.m. because of flooding concerns.

It turned out to be a smart decision.

"At Humphrey Street we had about a foot of water," Cresta said. "On Puritan Road, we had close to two feet."...

In Marblehead, at least eight homes near the intersection of Beacon and Norman streets lost power due to downed poles and lines Sunday night. Crews were at work restoring power to the area all day Monday.

Crashing wind-driven waves took out a section of guardrail at Fort Sewall during the night and carried it into the street.

Fire Captain Michael Porter said at one point overnight the waves flooding the Causeway were coming from both sides, the harbor as well as the ocean side. The Causeway had to be closed down briefly due to flooding, isolating Marblehead Neck.

Overall, however, Police Sgt. Marion Keating, the officer in charge of the Marblehead police day shift, said of the clean-up, "People stayed off the streets. That's really the key, and the snow removal people worked like crazy cleaning the streets."
 

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