High winds stop Nantucket ferries, topple large tree in Hyde Park

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Donna Ricci peered out from her back porch in Hyde Park this morning at a large maple tree that fell in high wind.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour forced the cancellation of ferries to Nantucket this morning and downed a towering 40-foot Norway Maple in Hyde Park.

At 8:30 a.m., Donna Ricci said, she heard a crash, felt the ground shake, and looked outside to see that a massive tree had fallen, knocking down three telephone poles, several wires, and part of her fence.

“If it had fallen the other way, it would have destroyed half my house,” said Ricci, who lives on Mount Ash Street. “Oh, I’m just so thankful.”

The tree, which was at least one story higher than Ricci’s two-floor colonial, fell onto Cleveland Street and landed between two other homes, slightly damaging a car across the street. Workers from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department chopped up the tree and hauled it away. Police closed the road for 20 minutes while the live power lines were on the ground, a spokesman said.

Winds were a “little gusty this morning,” blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour in Boston and up to 45 miles per hour on Nantucket, said Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton. The breezes are the byproduct of a large storm that passed south of New England Monday night.

The wind forced the Steamship Authority to cancel all of its ferries today between Nantucket and Hyannis. Ferries are running to Martha’s Vineyard.

An NStar spokesman said only a handful of customers lost power in Hyde Park. Utility crews are working to repair the damage. Ricci said she was told that power would be restored sometime this evening, but that won’t help this summer when the sun comes out.

“Now we’ll have no shade in our back yard,” Ricci said.

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