Thousands without power Tuesday in bitter cold as wind gusts toppled trees

Brutal cold and wind gusts up to 60 mph lasted through mid-afternoon while thousands woke up without power Tuesday morning.

About 15,000 customers were still without power at 1:30 p.m., down from 30,000 at 11 a.m., as fallen trees took down utility lines across the state.

Morning wind chills of -10 to -15 degrees in central Mass. and -5 to -10 in eastern Mass. made things frigid for most residents. Even with the full sun, highs were only expected to reach the upper 20s to lower 30s.

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Strong winds toppled seven stories of scaffolding on a building under construction in Boston and hampered firefighters’ efforts at several fires, including one in Salem.

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Live updates

3:15 p.m. - The wind advisory is no longer in effect. And while some gusts are still exceeding 40 mph, they will continue to diminish throughout the night.

3:00 p.m. - There are currently 9,944 power outages in the commonwealth, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

12:30 p.m. - Wind speeds remain high through Mass. and southern N.H. as a wind advisory remains in effect through 3 p.m. Tuesday.

12:00 p.m. - Cyrus Cuddy was on a work Zoom call when multiple trees were blown down by his Wellesley home.

“At first I heard a slight cracking, and then I suddenly heard an immediate thud, and I looked outside and sure enough it was it,” Cuddy said.

The tree broke apart, take out fences, a car and the top floor of a house; nobody was hurt. Carly Shea lives in the neighborhood and said at least four properties had some sort of damage.

“The damage is really bad, there is a huge hole at the top of their attic or something,” Shea said.

In Concord, Marquis Tree Service was called to pick apart some broken trees and branches hanging over homes and power lines. Owner John Marquis said the wind not letting up made the cleanup trickier.

“With the wind blowing like it is, it was only a matter of time before they split completely, and they would have landed on the garage and taken out the power,” Marquis said.

6:32 a.m. - Downed trees and debris are blocking many roads. Be careful as you head out this morning - for trees that are still standing but may be weakened from the overnight winds, and on the roads.

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