Deadly storm knocks out power, grounds flights in Northeastern US

High winds drive surf into a retaining wall in front of a residence in Mattapoisett, Mass. on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023 as a storm makes its away across the region. (Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times via AP)

PORTLAND, Maine — A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least four people.

More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts of several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.

Power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers in an area stretching north from Virginia through New England, including nearly 423,000 in Maine and about 200,000 in Massachusetts as of Monday night, according to poweroutage.us.

The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

An 89-year-old Hingham, Massachusetts, man was killed early Monday when high winds caused a tree to fall on a trailer, authorities said. In Windham, Maine, police said part of a tree fell and killed a man who was removing debris from his roof.

In Catskill, New York, a driver was killed after the vehicle went around a barricade on a flooded road and was swept into the Catskill Creek, the Times Union reported. A man was pronounced dead in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, after he was found in a submerged vehicle Monday morning.

On Sunday in South Carolina, one person died when their vehicle flooded on a road in a gated community in Mount Pleasant.

Five months after flooding inundated Vermont’s capital city of Montpelier, water entered the basements of some downtown businesses as the city monitored the level of the Winooski River, officials said. Authorities in the village of Moretown, Vermont, urged residents to evacuate some 30 to 50 homes because of flooding.

However, the city announced Monday night that the river was receding and forecasts predict the rain will taper off overnight.

“Several businesses needed to pump water from basements but damage was minimal due to many basements being empty as a precaution following the July flood,” the city’s statement said.

Three people were rescued from a home in Jamaica and another in Waterbury when that person’s vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, said Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison at a press conference with the governor. A shelter was set up in Barre and Morrison urged people to stay off the roads Monday night and not drive through floodwaters as the rivers are expected to rise.

Some schools canceled classes or sent students home early due to the storm. A numbers of roads were also closed around the state due to flooding, including in Londonderry and Ludlow, the southern Vermont communities that were hit hard by flooding in July.

“Although there will be damage to infrastructure, homes and businesses, we do not expect this to be the same scale as July,” said Gov. Phil Scott. “That being said, some of the places that were impacted in July are currently experiencing flooding once again. So for them, this is July and it’s a real gut punch.”

Some schools canceled classes or sent students home early due to the storm. A numbers of roads were also closed around the state due to flooding, including in Londonderry and Ludlow, the southern Vermont community that were hit hard by flooding in July.

Windspeeds exceeded 60 mph (97 kph) in Maine, which was the site of widespread damage to trees and structures, representatives for Maine’s largest utility said. Central Maine Power said it anticipated a “multi-day restoration effort” and crews Monday evening remained unable to safely use bucket trucks or to start making repairs.

Heavy rain and high tides caused flooding along the Jersey Shore, leading authorities to block off roads near Barnegat Bay in Bay Head and Mantoloking. The Delaware River spilled over its banks in suburban Philadelphia, leading to road closures. In the suburb of Washington Crossing, crews placed barriers along roadways and worked to clear fallen tree limbs. Seven people died after flash flooding in that area over the summer.

Many flights were cancelled or delayed across the region. Boston’s Logan International Airport grounded all flights Monday morning because of the poor conditions, leading to more than 100 canceled flights and about 375 delays, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. At New York City area airports, nearly 80 flights were canceled and more than 90 were delayed.

In Rhode Island, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed parts of Providence’s hurricane barrier system to prevent flooding from storm surge, Mayor Brett Smiley said. The Providence River gates were closed in the morning and another gate was scheduled to close. City Hall in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was closed due to leaks and water damage from its landmark tower, the city posted online.

In New York City, high winds caused the temporary closure of the Verrazzano Bridge. It reopened later Monday morning, but with a ban on large vehicles.

The storm moved up the East Coast on Saturday and Sunday, breaking rainfall records and requiring water rescues. It brought unseasonably warm temperatures of more than 60 degrees (16 degrees Celsius) to the Northeast on Monday.

In South Carolina on Sunday, the tide in Charleston Harbor reached 9.86 feet (3 meters) just before noon, which was the fourth-highest reading ever.

“This was a tough and frustrating day for our citizens, as historic high tides came up and over the land in the city, flooding cars, homes, businesses and streets,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said, adding there were no reports of serious injuries.

Monday’s rain and wind came a week after a storm caused flooding and power outages in the Northeast after spawning deadly tornadoes in Tennessee.