Monday, December 21, 2009

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Bay State digging out as storm moves off shore

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BOSTON -- The first major Nor'easter of the winter left parts of the Bay State covered in more than two feet of snow.

The storm dumped between 20-25 inches in some regions and brought wind gusts over 50 mph to Cape Cod.

Accumulations were greatest in areas of southeastern Massachusetts, including Fall River (25.2 inches) and South Dartmouth (20.5 inches).

The blizzard-like conditions tapered off to light snow and flurries Sunday afternoon, with temperatures hovering in the upper 20s.

Strong winds will likely continue Monday and Tuesday, with gusts topping 25 mph.

The snow made for some dangerous driving across the state. On Sunday morning, a pregnant woman was taken to the hospital after she slammed into a plow on Route 28 South in Bourne. Fortunately, no one was injured.

The strong winds and heavy snow caused at least 9,000 power outages across the state, according to NSTAR. Around 7,500 of these outages occurred on Cape Cod. About 1,000 Massachusetts residents still did not have power as of Monday morning.

The Red Cross on Cape Cod has set up four regional shelters: the Oak Ridge School in East Sandwich, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in South Yarmouth, Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, and Nauset Regional High School in Eastham. These shelters opened at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Earlier in the weekend, the storm system dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on parts of the mid-Atlantic, resulting in five deaths, extensive travel delays and empty stores on what is normally one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

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